Hive Daughter
by PlateGlassArmour
Summary: "At that exact moment, Taylor Hebert connected to a vast alien entity. In most universes, she gets the power to control insects, in some, she gets a slightly different power. In this universe, in some cosmic case of wrong telephone number, Taylor connected to the wrong vast alien entity. In this universe, for a few seconds, Taylor Hebert connected to the Tyranid Hive Mind."
1. Original Snippet

So, I finally decided to work on the snippet of a story that I've had sitting on my desktop for a couple of years now. It's my first attempt at writing, so I'm looking for feedback. Please let me know if you notice anything I can improve on: tone, grammar, word choice, whatever.

The idea is that Taylor has the power of a nascent hive mind like the Tyranids. I'm having loads of fun giving the Tyranids some concrete details for their actual biology.

Original snippet

o0O0o0O0o

Hmmm. That's inconvenient, Lung tore my arm off.

Wait.

What.

I pulled back from the fight a little bit to go over that thought; the rest of _me_ was still fighting of course, delaying Lung and avoiding damage as the new tranquilizing unit made its way toward the fight.

So, having my arm torn off was an _inconvenience_ now? Well, it didn't hurt all that much, and I knew I could grow another one, but _still_. How much had I changed my brain if that wasn't even really important any more? I could still analyze the situation and realize that I _should_ be freaking out, so I wasn't all gone; hmm, I know I would be freaking out if that body were all of me, its just, _me_ was so much larger now. I guess when my mind takes up several bodies, damage to one of them, even if it was the first and most important body, seems trivial almost. I just knew I could grow another arm. For that matter, now that I considered it, I would be fully capable of growing another "Taylor Hebert" body. There wouldn't be two of me though; _I_ was all the creatures connected to my swarm.

Lung screamed as another electric pulse hit him in the back. Wow, an amped up taser really couldn't even slow him down at all at this point. My nets were already being incinerated and torn off and the bio-electric shocks were having less and less effect. It was time to deploy my newest weapon. Normally I would worry about pumping concentrated tranquilizers, sedatives, and paralytics into someone without stopping their heart or diaphragm; there was a reason I hadn't made them standard on my runners yet; but I'm pretty sure Lung could handle it with his regeneration. Hell, I was already authorized to use the sedative mixture on certain targets, Lung inclusive; the only part of the creature that was "untested" was the armored injector necessary to pierce his armor, and I was planning on disposing of it right after this fight.

The newly released runner leaped, armor piercing injector tearing through one of the plates on his shoulder as it pumped its contents into his muscle. The effect took only seconds; lung stumbled, slowing, as he grunted and tried to fight off the effect. His fighting was impressive but ultimately futile as armor started retracting and shrinking, slowly turning Lung back into a human.

I called headquarters immediately. "Lung is down, I managed to tag him with one of my sedatives. He's still breathing, but I would like some assistance to make sure he stays down safely."

"Good work Skitter, Armsmaster is almost to your location, he will take care of it. Were there any injuries to yourself or civilians?"

Oh right, my arm...

"Ahhh, yes. I received some damage, I should be fine by tomorrow. There are eleven non-powered ABB members in nets ready for pickup, one of them might have received some minor burns from Lung, not sure. Heading to my base now to repair my damage and my runners."

"Confirmed, you can fill out your paperwork when you come in tomorrow."


	2. 1-1

1.1  
o0O0o0O0o

I pounded on the metal door of the locker with all the strength I could. I couldn't actually do anything of course, my arms could only move a few inches and anyone who could hear the noise was opting to ignore it. This truly couldn't get any worse.

o0O0o

At that exact moment, Taylor Hebert connected to a vast alien entity. In most universes, she gets the power to control insects, in some, she gets a slightly different power. In _this_ universe, in some cosmic case of wrong telephone number, Taylor connected to the _wrong_ vast alien entity. In _this_ universe, for a few seconds, Taylor Hebert connected to the Tyranid Hive Mind.

The Hive Mind, for all its unimaginably vast power, was bound to one universe. Unlike the twin entities, it could not casually punch holes between realities. For the few seconds that it connected to Taylor Hebert's mind, the Hive Mind overcame its vast hunger just enough to feel _curious_. After all, the ability to traverse realities was useful; hell, knowledge that there are other realities ripe for harvest was useful all on its own. The Hive Mind turned its cosmic scale intelligence to the problem, and in those few seconds gained enough data to mull over for millennia.

While the hive mind gained its information, Taylor Hebert gained something else entirely. Her mind was filled with information on genetic templates, creatures, gene markers and the methods for making organisms from the ground up. She also gained traces of the Hive Mind itself, urges towards survival, propagation, advancement, and an underlying interest in space. Finally, Taylor's brain gained structures indistinguishable from those of capes; structures designed for connecting, but instead of connecting to a shard of the entities, they held the potential to connect nodes in a network. The new structures were in fact the seeds of a new Hive Mind, a Hive Mind centered on Taylor.

Now all of these changes and additions to Taylor were useful, and would probably be appreciated had they not also been alien and traumatic. Taylor Hebert slumped in her locker as her body fell into a coma, while her mind whirred with changes, plans, and possibilities.


	3. 1-2

1.2  
o0O0o0O0o

It took me longer than it probably should have to even realize I had powers, part of which was my hospital stay with intermittent bouts of lucidity, and part of which was the fact that I was a tinker. Specifically, I was a biological tinker; so all the normal tinker urges of seeing tools or parts and thinking "I can make something out of that" were missing. At first, I thought that the drugs were just making me daydream more. What really made me pause was that I realized that none of the ideas that _were_ popping into my head even remotely related to humans. I was a biological tinker of creatures, of species.

As soon as I realized that, it put me on high alert. I could only think of two bio-tinkers famous enough to jump to the front of my mind: Bonesaw of the Slaughterhouse 9, and Nilbog; not great company to be keeping. I would probably be strong-armed into the wards or labeled as dangerous as soon as my powers became public knowledge. Not that I was opposed to the wards per se, but if I wanted to make anything without strict supervision, my only chance was going to be before anyone found out I was a cape.

My first actual 'project' was modifying my own body. Sort of dangerous in hindsight, but making internal changes to my body was balanced with the risk of making _anything_ external and being discovered. Slightly stronger muscles, slightly better eyes and ears; nothing that a human was actually incapable of, but definitely more than average. Most of the time was spent parsing my own genetics and figuring out how the changes would interact with my existing body.

The first significant change I made was to my own mind. The only reason I took an entire week to attempt it was that I wanted to make absolute certain that I wouldn't turn myself into a vegetable. By the time I returned to school, I had much better memory, faster reaction time, and no need to sleep. It was honestly a little terrifying how much I could change about myself, and how easily. I didn't even need equipment for modifications to my own body, I just had to construct a template of exactly what I wanted, then to flip the great big switch I could just _feel_ in my mind. Well that and sleep for about 13 hours after eating like a sumo wrestler.

When I finally turned my attention to how I was going to make my first creature I was surprised by how positively deadly just about every single template was. Even the 'standard' creature, just a simple runner, was several times the weight of a man, and bristled with spines, talons, bio-weapons, and armor. Fortunately, it was almost trivial to make changes to templates and even making creatures from the ground up was doable, just more time consuming. I didn't think I could ever be accepted as a hero who could only make monsters.

Before I could actually put some of the fist inklings of ideas in to practice however I needed a base of operations, I couldn't 'construct' a creature with my bare hands after all. I decided to make use of one of the many smaller abandoned buildings in the direction of the docks, only a few minutes from my house so it wouldn't be that hard to slip there at night. I thought for some time about how to make my first real base, and what features I would want. I really didn't like the method I had come up with for creating the first 'seed' for a base, but I didn't really see any alternatives that were any better. I ended up sneaking to the warehouse I had selected in the middle of the night, before throwing up on the floor next to a crack in the concrete. The 'seed' with all the plans and templates I wanted had been nurtured next to my stomach for several days, and short of self surgery, I didn't see a better way of doing it.

The seed shot down roots almost as soon as it touched dirt, breaking through the crumbling concrete of the floor. A vine grew along the floor towards the window where there would be sun in the morning as I watched, providing direction and instruction as though it were another arm, an extension of myself. That done, I dumped the bag of compost I brought along on top of the seed to provide some nutrients for the initial expansion as well as to hide it from sight.

At first the general lack of plants among the templates had puzzled me; after all, there were some large, immobile structures that you would think would be fed by roots and sunlight, and there were innumerable genes from individual plants available. Instead they were fed by pools of bio-matter like some great external stomach. Eventually it all boiled down to time; the two great common trends among all the templates I could think of were supreme lethality, and rapid growth and development. The available plant genetics could grow astonishingly quickly by any normal standards, but even creatures that were several tonnes had growth times measured in days or weeks, instead of months or years. As I had no pressing need to have a complete base in days, and no way to feed it the vast materials that would require, I elected to take slightly longer to make a more self reliant base.

Throughout the next week, I supervised the growth of the base every night, making sure the vines were growing in walls, underground, or were otherwise camouflaged. When actual photosynthesis started, I discovered that my capabilities were much more efficient than anything on earth; absorptive surfaces were a dull black or muted brown, reflecting almost nothing, and using almost all of the light for growth. As soon as vines started to cover the roof, growth exploded. I was rapidly approaching the point where I could make an actual creature.

First priority was remaining undetected, and to that end I utilized the refractive, chameleonic, adaptive skin of some of the stealth templates. I think the only reason that the adaptive skin wasn't on all the creatures came down to time again, it increased the growth time of the basic runners from being measured in hours to being measured in days. I swear actual chameleons would be jealous; almost instant response time, perfect color fidelity, and I'm positive it covered a far greater spectrum than humans could even see in. It even had some funky refractive properties so that different viewing angles on a single patch of skin would have different color responses.

Next priority was communication, I _liked_ the feeling of being one with my growing base, and the range of communication was expanding every day; I liked the effortless expansion of my own capabilities and the instant status report on progress, the feeling of having an extra limb or extra body. I found out pretty fast that the role of communication and synaptic relays was primarily driven by some of the larger templates, and 4 meter tall monsters walking around would stand out a little bit too much for my liking. Mulling the problem over, it occurred to I wasn't planning on leaving Brockton Bay any time soon, so having immobile relays wasn't really a negative for me.

To expand my communication range, and make sure none of my creatures would ever be without direction, my first creature was a planter; it planted seeds for synaptic relays. The seeds themselves were slightly smaller than a baseball, and quickly shot roots underground once they were placed. They would leave a little patch of exposed surface on the ground to facilitate energy collection and some basic senses and the rest would be slowly expanding underground. The cap looked like a small patch of dull brown mold or moss, nothing conspicuous. The nodes would grow in size, range, effect, and spare processing power over time, seeing as I rather liked the idea of a distributive net of spare brainpower to throw at whatever problem I was facing. The planter itself was made to the extent of my stealth capabilities, which were rather jaw-dropping when taken together. It was a 2.5 meter tall mass of muscle and chitin that could disappear in an instant and hardly disturb the ground it walked on despite weighing half a ton. I carefully crafted its instinctual behavior to exact specifications; it would avoid humans, stay out of sight, mostly move at night, eat from sources that would not be missed such as compost (the digestive abilities available to me were astounding really,) it would tend to hang out around at the edge of my synaptic range, and it would plant a new node every time it moved beyond the range of communication. Along with the expanding capabilities of the nodes themselves, I figured I could have a robust and redundant net covering most of the city within a few weeks.

It was a rush to see through the eyes of a creature that could dwarf a human, and yet move undetected through the city; even cats and dogs didn't react to my passing. It was interesting to be thinking as both me and the planter at the same time. The planter didn't really have a sense of self in the same way people do, but it had a razor sharp intelligence, and a shrewd mind. Being one mind in two brains was not what I was expecting; there was no stretching or reaching myself to try to do both at once, there was simply that much more of _me._ It said good things for my ability to make as many creatures as I wanted without feeling stressed by controlling them.

My base growing, and my nodes being spread, I had to decide what to work on next. Looking towards joining heroes I would want to know about all the local capes, and I would want more than one base. When I actually joined, the Protectorate would want to know exactly where I had been making my creatures, so I would need to show them _a_ base; I wanted to make sure it wasn't my _only_ base.

Researching the local capes at the library was more time consuming than I liked, I only had a few hours per week that I could spend on the public computers since the library closed at night and I was at school during the day. It was during the second week of research that I stumbled on an idea. My creatures already had some impressive data processing and sensory capabilities; there were even templates for organic radio receivers. I decided to plant a node at the back of the library, right where their cables went into the building. This node was special, I already had synapse relays covering the library, so I didn't have to focus on communication; instead I made a node focused towards processing power. Instead of an added extra, the brainpower of this node was the focus, and all power not directed to growth and expansion would be directed to that purpose. Its job would be to spend night and day, 7 days a week, figuring out the protocols and codes for internet communication by brute force; then it would interact with the internet, pretending to be the library, requesting pages or posting content. I honestly had no idea how long it would take to even be able to comprehend what the actual library was doing, let alone being able to perfectly imitate it; but hey, it wouldn't work unless I started on the project.

As far as secondary bases went, I decided to make my next one in the boat graveyard, able to reach on to land or the bay itself. My creatures weren't really troubled with breathing water, they had something like 5 redundant respiratory systems in place anyway (I actually looked them up online because I was curious: opercular and ram ventilation, bidirectional respiration, a separate system of air sacs, spiracles, and one that I'm pretty sure doesn't exist on earth that involved directly absorbing oxygen through it's carapace; they could even work entirely without oxygen at a lower metabolic rate). I figured expanding into the ocean would be ideal for staying truly under the radar, after all, no-one really did ocean exploration any more because of Leviathan. That, and it would be easier to collect raw material; having a giant filter at the bottom of the bay would be much easier than dragging bags of compost to my base, or slowly using the soil.

It was actually kind of scary how far I had come in only a few weeks. There was only about a week from getting my powers until my first 'project' and after that point I didn't need sleep. Only a week and a half from then to my rudimentary base and then another week and a half to grow my planter. I was growing used to being part of something _larger_ and my size increased by the day. I was also getting used to having more brainpower to throw at whatever I wanted, math and problem solving were increasingly easy and anything I really threw some thought behind would be done if I could figure out how. The library project was providing surprising dividends; I couldn't read the content of the actual messages yet, but the code, protocols, and logic behind the system itself was unraveling, especially as I researched how internet protocol actually worked in person. I was pretty sure I would be able to do some simple web stuff by the same time next week and I was looking forward to it. It would make for a good side project while I sat in class.

School itself was becoming less and less something I dreaded and more a chore to keep up appearances. I wasn't actually learning anything new and it was becoming increasingly hard to care what the trio did to try to provoke me. I could see that my lack of reaction was starting to get to them and they would probably try to escalate, but there was just _so much to do_ that I didn't care. Its not like they could really damage me at this point if they tried; incremental changes to my body over the course of weeks meant that I weighed well over 200 pounds despite still being rail thin. My body was well beyond Olympic athlete level and my only constraint was keeping my body looking human to a decent inspection.

My body was sitting in computer class, researching the intricacies of the standard internet protocol suite while my first base was slowly assembling the template for a generic runner. The standard template was that of a 2m long sleek spiked monstrosity with a jaw visibly designed for ripping flesh apart and huge scything talons. If I ever wanted to even pretend to be a hero, the image was going to have to be vastly different. I started with the shape. Six limbs and a catlike posture were just too efficient to avoid, but I did tone down the spikes and the sharp edges on the armor and limbs. It would still be armored to the gills (it literally had armored gill intakes on the underside of its neck) but it would be the sleek, rounded armor of old curvy car detailing. The front limbs would have three fingered opposable hands sort of like a chameleon. The hands were hopefully alien enough to avoid looking creepily human-like, but not alien enough to be grotesque or monstrous. That, and the fact that the hands looked relatively harmless compared to anything visibly clawed or with talons; which was why I put the retractable claws inside the harmless looking hands. I was going to stick with purely light spectrum camouflage for anything I actually wanted to use in public; it grew much faster than the full stealth package, was far more than required to fool merely human eyes or mundane cameras, and it wouldn't give away my full capabilities. With the template essentially complete I started the production of my first runner. I was looking forward to finally starting the hero thing openly even if that meant I would have to deal with the protectorate soon as well.


	4. 1-3

1.3  
o0O0o0O0o

Well, my first runner is done and I think I'm ready to go out on the town tonight. I thought about using myself as bait by hanging around alley entrances, but that wouldn't help any of the people that are already in trouble, it would just get some of the creeps off the street. I ended up deciding to trail behind my runner a ways to try to cover a bit more ground and be ready to step in if there were any problems.

I didn't really feel the need to wear a costume since I was planning on only getting involved with my runner and actually making a costume would delay my outing by several days. I had a few ideas on the costume front, but I hadn't actually settled on anything concrete. I could go the minimalist route and grow some finely scaled, close fitting "clothes" with some basic armor and stealth necessities, or I could go for the full coverage bio-armor that included augmented muscles and built in weapons. I guess it will depend on what I feel I need once I've been out a few times.

I stepped out into the clear night. It was pretty still out, so I would be able to hear any potential trouble from blocks away. Of course, the darkness was no barrier to my eyes; my main body could see as though it were noon, and even though the runner had it's nictitating membranes closed so that it would be totally invisible instead of a floating pair of eyes, it could see even better than my human body, since it was not limited to human looking eyes.

Walking around with what effectively amounted to an invisible 400 pound guard dog was an amazing confidence boost. Even though I knew that my main body was functionally immune to small arms fire, I would still have felt hesitant to go walking around alone at night just due to sheer ingrained habit. The senses available as the runner were a rush; you would think that I would be used to it, since my planter had been walking around the city for more than two weeks now, but it hung out on the edge of my range so often it was easy to think of it as being a separate entity to me. The runner on the other hand was an obvious extension of myself, integrated to the point that when it was looking at a poster for a lost pet, my main body had no trouble reading off what it said even when "I" couldn't see it. I didn't have to focus on looking through my runner's eyes or anything, it just felt like I had two sets of eyes that happen to be separated by a larger distance than usual.

I headed slightly deeper in to the docks, towards the area I knew was favourited by Merchant muggers and drug dealers. Just because I hadn't been in the area much myself didn't mean that I didn't have intel on the area; my synapse nodes only had basic senses, but I had a lot of them. It was amazing what you could learn from overhearing a couple of weeks worth of conversations from half a city of area. I probably only caught one in ten conversations because the senses on the nodes were so poor, but that was plenty to give a fairly real time map of crime in a city; after all, I only caught some of the talking, but I caught pretty much all of the gunshots.

With my hearing, it ended up taking less than 30 minutes to find a mugging in process. Now I just had to decide how to ruin a mugger's day.

"Hey, I said give me your wallet!" yelled the sunken eyed man, waving a knife in the direction of a cowering man in jogging clothes.

"I d-d-don't h-have my wallet on me though," stuttered the jogger.

I moved the runner towards the increasingly agitated mugger, deciding to just tackle him if it looked like he was going to use the knife. Neither man noticed my approach, since I had camouflage engaged and I wasn't making any noise.

"Bullshit! I'll stab you if you don't hand it over,"

"N-n-o really, please, I didn't bring it," sobbed the young man.

I had seen enough. I was close enough that I could reach out and touch the junkie with the runner, so I didn't try anything fancy; the next time he swung the knife in my general direction, I just plucked it out of his hands with an firm three fingered grip on the flat of the blade.

I hadn't realized that my reaction times were so much better than a baseline human's. It was like he held the knife out for me, and I even had plenty of time to decide how to grab the blade safely before closing my claw gently around it.

"What the fuck!" yelled the merchant; his eyes going wide and his pupils dilating even more as his knife seemingly got yanked out of his hands by thin air.

The jogger stood frozen in fear, wide eyed at the floating knife. I was going to tell him to just run for it before I realized that my runner didn't have a human compatible voice box. Oops. For that matter, I didn't really have a way to restrain the mugger safely or call the police and let them know that I even had a mugger ready to pick up. I suppose I could just sit on him with my runner, I was upwards of 400 pounds after all, but I would still have to go find a payphone with my human body to call the police and wait for them to arrive.

I ended up just settling for giving the jogger a slight nudge to get him moving and knocking the mugger around a bit with the invisible runner to dissuade him from mugging again in the future.

"Ahhhh! Who the fuck is there, show yourself."

Let's see, a voice box wouldn't be a problem, a bird type syrinx would be much more efficient than a human larynx at producing loud sounds if I wanted them, and could produce a better range of sounds anyway.

"What the fuck do you want with me you fucker!"

Oooh, I bet I could even work out a pretty good echolocation system using ultrasonic frequencies for high fidelity images and infasonic frequencies for matter penetrating sonar to "see" movement and large structures through walls and underground.

"I-I-I'm a member of the Merchants, you better stop messing with me or I'll get some guys to fuck you up."

Hmmm. What to do about safely containing gang members though. I could try a glue or expanding foam like the PRT use. Nah, needs too much volume to do anything useful, I'd need to design a creature from the ground up to do that properly. How about a launched net? Yeah, fire a compressed ball of woven carbon nano-stuctues soaked in a quick drying sticky epoxy so you can't just fling the thing off, and it will harden into an extremely tough, semi-rigid, shear thickening tack with ridiculous tensile strength to restrain them without injury and without sticking cops to the gangers they're trying to arrest. That could work.

"Y-you hear me? We'll kill you, s-s-s-shit head"

Well, I have officially got tired of this guy ranting. I figure I'll give him a good scare then let him run away. If he wants to mug again, that's on him. I grabbed the ex-mugger by the ankle and dragged him down the alley a ways, just enough to give him a bit of road rash to remember me by. And wow, he's got a set of lungs on him. As soon as I let go, he went off screaming into the night.

I decided to head back to my base to start upgrading my runner. Theoretically I could modify it in the same way I modified myself, simply by parsing the genetics, then releasing the change. Two reasons I didn't do that though. One: it wasn't very energy efficient, even a small change like the voice box would be more energy intensive than necessary. Two: it would take longer, the smaller change would probably take a day or two, but a new bio-weapon, especially an external one like the net launcher was going to be, would take more like a week. If I grew the additions at my base, then implanted them into my existing runner, I was pretty sure I could finish the changes tonight.

The voice box was easy, I already had one growing by the time I returned to the base. It would be ready to implant in a few hours. The net launcher was going to take some design work. I wanted a compacted size about as large as a golf ball, and an expanded size of two or three meters diameter.

The woven carbon nano-structure was actually the easy part, I had encyclopedias worth of carbon chemistry knowledge in my head. I just had to pick the right mix of flexibility, strength, and expansion factor. Far stronger than spider silk, while remaining just as flexible, and having a definite maximum stretch range, beyond which it would act more like steel cable, stretching almost nothing at all. The harder part was coming up with a biological epoxy with the characteristics I wanted. It would need to be incredibly sticky for the first 30 seconds or so, then dry on to the surface so that it was very difficult to remove, but no longer sticky. I wanted it to be very flexible when wet, and very stiff (but not brittle) when hardened, with a tendency to resist movement by becoming more rigid the faster it was flexed. Ideally this would give me nets that were murder to escape, while preventing the captive from slicing themselves to ribbons on taught carbon nano-tubes.

The launcher itself was simple enough, I just re-purposed one of the many templates for a muscled tube projectile launcher. It could launch a golf ball hard enough to bruise, but not enough to kill, so hopefully even failed shots couldn't cause serious harm. I even picked a design that would accommodate multiple sizes of projectile by unhinging like a snake's mouth, so that I could launch a much larger net if desired. It would be easy to have the launcher store half a dozen man sized nets and one vehicle sized net the size of a baseball, ready to launch, and it could produce it's own ammunition if given nutrients from the host organism.

After a short incubation and some simple neuromuscular, vascular, and skeletal grafts to the left arm of my runner, the Pringles can sized net launcher was ready to go. I suppose that most people would get creeped out by operating on something that was clearly awake and aware of the procedure, but pain was basically optional for any of my bodies and it was handy to have the "patient" move it's muscles and joints at just the right times to line pieces up. My healing rate was so high that grafting a new weapon on to my runner's arm consisted of holding the pieces in place for a couple of seconds while applying pressure, then waiting for the graft to settle the final connections at the cellular level over a couple of minutes.

It was getting close enough to morning that I should probably head home. Since my runner didn't need sleep either, I figured I could start patrolling the edge of the boardwalk for creeps today. It would be kind of cool to stop by the PRT headquarters to see if they could detect my runner at all, since it only used the light spectrum camouflage.

Running back to the house was a joy; since there was no-one around, I didn't mind pouring on the speed and blazing a trail faster than any Olympic athlete could manage. When I started getting closer to the house I heard dad moving around already. That was pretty unusual at this time in the morning, I wonder what woke him up?

Since I could tell he was in the kitchen when I was walking up I called out to him as I came inside. "Hey dad. What are you doing up already?"

"Taylor, where have you been," he demanded.

I vacillated between coming clean and making something up. In the end it was probably a combination of his worry, my good mood, and the fact that my former personal issues just felt so _petty_ these days that caused me to speak the truth.

"I've been out testing my powers. Don't worry, I was perfectly safe, I'm basically bulletproof these days."

Stunned silence.

Perhaps that was a bit blunt for breaking it to him the first time.

"Uhhhhm. Taylor. Kiddo, when did you get powers?"

"In the locker, a couple of weeks ago now."

"Well. I'm not entirely sure what to say about that," said dad; still looking a bit like I'd clubbed him over the head.

I figured I'd elaborate to speed up the conversation a bit. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you before now, but it just didn't occur to me. I was too focused on planning how to use my power, since I didn't get anything fancy and direct like laser beams or flight."

"So, uh, you're bulletproof now? That's what you got?"

" _Well,_ not _exactly_. I got a huge amount of information about biology and control over my own body, so I _made_ myself bulletproof. Do you know what tinkers are? Well I'm a bio-tinker now."

"Wait, isn't that what Bonesaw of the Slaughterhouse 9 is," asked dad with a dawning look of horror. His hands going white from his fists clenching.

"Exactly, which is why I wanted to establish myself as a Hero before approaching the PRT. I don't want them freaking out and banning me from doing anything useful."

"Well, I can tell you've put a lot of thought in to this; and you really are bulletproof now?"

I could tell he was hoping for reassurances on my safety when going out, so I didn't have any problem spilling my secrets a little.

"Yeah. Sub-dermal graphene reinforcement means my skin is now way stronger than a bulletproof vest. That plus my vastly increased muscle density and cross-fiber reinforcements mean that I can basically just ignore small arms fire now."

I could see that the idea that I had powers was finally sinking in for him. He sort of slumped in to a kitchen chair.

"So is that why you've been so much happier going to school these days kiddo?"

"Yeah. All the petty crap they try to bother me with these days just slides right off my skin. It's actually pretty funny how frustrated they're getting because of it all."

"They're still bothering you, even after the school **promised** ," he cut himself off, visibly taking a calming breath.

"Don't worry about it dad, it honestly doesn't bother me any more. It's more amusing watching them work themselves up over than anything else."

He looked up at me, a serious expression on his face. "Well, if you're sure. I suppose I don't have any business sticking my nose in it if you're moving past it."

"Thanks dad. And besides, I'll probably get moved over to Acadia when I join the Wards, since they supposedly send all the Wards there anyway."

I headed over to the fridge and took out some orange juice.

"I think I'll take a shower, then get ready for school."

"Yeah sure, I need to get ready for work anyway, I got called in because one of the warehouses had a minor bang because some idiot decided to try to use a cutting torch on a _nearly_ empty propane tank. I need to make sure the warehouse is still safe and no one got hurt worse than burnt eyebrows and burst eardrums. I'll get back to you about your situation once I've had a while to think about it."

"See you later dad."

"See you later kiddo. Oh, and Taylor, I'm glad you're feeling better, whatever the reason is."


	5. 1-4

1.4  
o0O0o0O0o

As I was riding the bus towards school, I was also making my way towards the boardwalk. I figured I could have a productive day bagging a few muggers or drug dealers. Make my debut to the Brockton Bay Police Department instead of the PRT. I figured the police would always appreciate having creeps off the streets, while the PRT was just as likely to attack me on sight.

I guess I shouldn't have been surprised, but I made it to the boardwalk first. I was outracing the cars on the road as my runner, leaving a trail of footprints through the fresh slush in the bike lane. I'm pretty sure cheetahs can pull the same speeds, but only in short bursts; I could sustain that pace all day.

It was kind of fun acting as an invisible guard on the boardwalk, as businesses were finally getting into swing for the day. Looking through the stalls that were open, while trying out my echolocation for the first time was a fun way of splitting my attention.

The first suspicious activity I found for the day was two guys huddled in an alley, just off the main thoroughfare. I was pleased that I noticed them with my echolocation before I heard or spotted them.

"Look man, I'm telling you, with this crappy weather, no-one is expecting someone to break in at this time of day." He gestured to the rear door of a store with a crowbar.

"They've already deactivated the alarms, and it's not like a hardware store is gonna have a security guard." He was just starting to put the crowbar to the doorjamb when his slightly taller friend stopped him with a hand on his shoulder.

"Doesn't that just mean they don't have any money, they haven't had any customers."

"Nah, see, the till always has some topped off at the start of the day to make change, and there might even be a safe under the counter with overflow if they haven't brought it to the bank yet. This place has two tills, it'll be the easiest 500 bucks you've ever made." Answered the shorter thug with a grin.

By this time I was pretty much next to them, careful to avoid the slush puddles avoid tipping them off that I was there. I decided to wait until they actually broke a law before stopping them. I didn't know what the legal ramifications of _almost_ breaking and entering were, but I figured I'd been on safer ground if they had actually busted the door.

As the man with the crowbar worked on the lock, the other one was looking around. "What if the owner is by the till? The store is already open."

The one with the crowbar started prying. "Urrrf" The wood around the door-handle splintered. "Hah! Well Benny, that's why you have a crowbar too, so you can bean him on the head if he starts any trouble."

Benny looked a little doubtful. "If you say so Rob. I'll just leave that to you."

They both headed through the back door quietly, dropping their voices as well. "You gonna make me do everything? You're the one who wanted to knock over some place in the first place."

"Fine, whatever. I'll smack him if he gives us trouble."

I had seen about enough, as interesting as it was to watch this soap opera unfold. I lined up my net launcher and launched one at 'Rob', hoping to trip them both up.

'Thwip'

It deployed perfectly, starting to spread out as soon as it left the barrel. Wrapping itself around his legs, and sticking his right arm in an awkward position that left him no room to swing his crowbar. He went down in a heap on the floor.

"Aaagh! Fuck!"

As he was starting to panic and tangle the net up, I launched one at 'Benny' as well. I managed to get him mid stride, reaching out to help his friend. With his left leg tangled in the net in mid step, he fell forward onto the other guy.

'Clonk' "Fuck man, my head!"

Hah! I managed to make them headbutt each other. These nets were working out better than I expected. Now I just needed to call the cops on them.

"Jeff? You come in early or something? Why are you making such a ruckus back here." The owner came in to the back room and flicked the light on, only to spot the two crooks on the floor.

"What in the world?" He muttered under his breath. The guys on the floor were still just groaning.

Hmmm. Should I speak to him as an invisible hero, or risk freaking him out with my runner. Well, I had to start being visible to people at some point, might as well try it under favorable conditions.

"Hello sir." I spoke in a quiet alto voice. He still jumped

"I found these gentlemen breaking in to your store and decided to try to stop them. I'm going to reveal myself, so please don't be surprised."

I faded in to view, picking my colours to be as heroic and non threatening as possible, cobalt blue rounded chitin like an old sports car, with gold accents and softly glowing blue tron lines caused by a luciferin reaction.

He stared, wide eyed; but no screaming or running yet, so I'll take that as a good sign.

I decided that talking calmly would probably be the best thing to do until his brain rebooted.

"I'm new, and I saw these idiots breaking your back door, and talking about hitting you over the head with a crowbar, so I figured I would step in and lend a hand."

"Well" He appeared to be struggling for words.

"Thanks" More thinking.

"So do you want me to call the PRT or something?" He asked, scratching his head as the situation started to fit enough of the pattern he was used to that he could hold his ground a little.

"No sir, these are just normal thieves, so I would appreciate it if you would just call the police."

" **Don't you ignore me you fuckers!** " Piped Rob. Benny was still looking a little glassy eyed.

"Ah, allow me to bring these fellows outside to wait for the police, do you mind making the call?"

I started dragging both men out by their coats.

"Yeah, just a sec." Well, at least it looked like the shop owner was firing on all cylinders now.

Fortunately, with my strength, it was easy to bring both men out in to the ally, and they were still thoroughly bound up in the nets, so there wasn't much risk of them making a break for it. I still decided to drop them both in a slush puddle before heading back inside to hear the tail end of the call to the police.

"-and she just bound them up in nets. Yes sir. Yes, a big fucking lizard thing. Yes, hold on one sec." He held up the phone to me.

"They wanted to talk to you."

I took the phone from him. "Hello?"

"This is the BBPD, you're the cape that stopped the men from breaking in?" Asked the gruff voice on the other end.

"Well, mostly. I stopped them after they had already broken the door, but yes, that's me."

"What should I put down for your name?"

Hmmm. That was a good point, I hadn't put much thought into my name, better pick one quickly. "Hive"

"And you're one of those monster capes? The owner said you look like a big lizard." I could hear the puzzlement in his voice.

"Pretty much, yes. I'm a biological construct shaped like a big lizard with six limbs. I'm blue and gold." I figured if I got a good description about me floating around, I would be a lot less likely to freak the police out next time we met.

"Huh. Well, thanks for stepping in without causing a bunch of property damage." Wow, some bitterness there, probably a pretty fair accusation most of the time though.

"Well, I'll see you guys around. Oh before I forget, if you pour some vinegar on the netting stuck to them, it will become kind of slimy, but it should come right off. You might need some shears to get them untangled though, it's pretty tough stuff."

"Sure, talk to you later Hive."

I handed the phone back to the old man, who took it with only a slightly curious look on his face before setting it in its cradle.

"Thanks for stopping them, Hive. I had no particular urge to make my grandson visit me in the hospital today."

I waved as I walked out the back door again. "No problem, thanks for not freaking out."

Stepping back in to the alley, I turned invisible, then checked to make sure my captives were still bound (and swearing up a storm.) Benny had gotten clever and wiggled out of his coat and gloves to try to get out of the net, before realizing that the epoxy had bound to his hair, and was unlikely to come out any time soon. I snickered to myself a bit before heading back out towards the boardwalk. I could get used to this hero stuff.

o0O0o

Arriving at school on the bus, I was in an irrepressibly good mood. I was out on the boardwalk, looking for criminals, and I had a functionally perfect alibi until the authorities started figuring out that my runners were a part of something larger.

For that matter, I bet it takes them a while before they even realize that there can be more than one runner; it's not like they'll need to patrol in groups for safety or anything. I bet I could have a pretty serious impact on petty crime in the city just by posting a half dozen invisible guards that never sleep.

I noticed that my good mood did not go unremarked upon by the student population, there were students milling about getting ready for class that would whisper and point when they thought I wouldn't notice.

I overheard a couple of giggles directed at me, which means that the trio was probably planning something for today, joy.

You know what, I don't even think I'm being sarcastic about that. I found it legitimately funny that the three girls that had been making my life a living hell for months were now working themselves up over the fact that they didn't bother me anymore.

Ah, speak of the devil, there they were.

"I don't even know why she shows up, everyone was a lot better off when she was in the loony bin." That would be Madison, trying to score points with the other two.

Emma picked up the conversation, pretending that they were just chatting among themselves. "Oh, I don't know, I suppose someone needs to be the school's loser, if Hebert left we would just need to pick someone else."

"Well, maybe she'll just go off herself, and solve the problem." And there was Sophia, always the most violent of the three.

Wow, all three of them were smelling stressed out. I guess my repeated non-responses to their actions were really starting to take their toll on the trio. Well, whatever, I've indulged them enough for now. I turned to leave for class.

"Where you going Hebert? You running away again?" Sophia took a step towards me, trying to look menacing.

"I'm sorry, were you talking to me? I didn't hear you."

Wow, that got a response. Heart rates racing, pupils dilating, Sophia at least was spitting mad, Madison looked just a little intimidated.

Sophia wasn't going to take that sitting down. "Fucking listen to me when I'm talking to you, Hebert! I'll-"

"Oh hi Mr. Gladly." I directed everyone's attention to Mr. Gladly trying to slink in to the classroom while ignoring the commotion, like he always does. Well not this time; with everyone's attention on him, Gladly is forced to actually acknowledge my existence.

"Ah, yes. Best hurry inside Ms. Hebert, class is starting soon."

I just walked in, ignoring the rest of the students. Everyone else started shuffling in as the first bell rang.

Mr. Gladly busied himself writing the topic for the day on the chalkboard. Looked like we were going to be discussing the effect that the emergence of capes had on traditional law enforcement.

I tuned out most of the lecture, but one thing that did jump out at me was that ever since law enforcement had been split in to PRT for cape crimes and the Police for traditional crimes, the Police had their budgets slashed across the board. The Police were hurting for good equipment and adequate pay to compensate for the added danger of running in to a cape while investigating a crime.

It made me consider what I could make that would help the Police do their jobs better and safer, at least in Brockton Bay. It would probably have a larger effect on the crime rate in the city than if the PRT were a little bit better equipped.

Maybe a net launcher gun that could be used by humans, and would make ammo and maintain itself if you fed it regularly? The PRT wouldn't really benefit, they already had containment foam, but I bet the police would appreciate an extra less-lethal option. Something to think on.

On my way out to lunch, I noticed more giggling in my direction. Guessing that meant that whatever the trio had planned would probably happen over lunch, I was entirely unsurprised when Emma swiped my lunch bag.

Figuring it would bother them, I didn't even react, I just figured I'd buy my lunch in the cafeteria. I discovered what their plan was when I suddenly smelled the extremely sharp smell of powerful hot sauce. Emma flung my bag back at me, so I caught it out of the air. Yup, all my food was drenched in the stuff. Heh, I know just what to do.

Picking a table that plenty of people could see, I took out my sandwich and started eating it with every appearance of enjoyment. If only they knew I could digest the seat I'm sitting on these days.

I heard lots of giggling from people watching me eat, so it was pretty clear a lot of students knew what was happening.

If the red traveling up Emma's neck was any indication, she knew perfectly well that most of the giggling was directed at them.

"Mmmmmm. This is a good sandwich." I stated, just loud enough to be heard by the surrounding tables. More giggles.

Maybe I was laying it on a bit thick? Nah...


	6. 1-5

1.5  
o0O0o0O0o

As I headed home from school, I brought the runner in as well. I had a feeling I was going to need to show it to dad for him to believe what I was capable of doing. I had fun on the boardwalk looking around, but there weren't any other crimes that I noticed in time to do anything about. The guards that were already there were pretty good about dealing with things like purse snatchers by themselves. Perhaps for tomorrow, I would patrol the area slightly outside of the tourist traps.

On my way through the front door, I was followed in by my runner, who shut the door behind me. I had seen dad's car in the driveway so I knew that the conversation that we had put off this morning was going to happen now.

I marshaled my thoughts, which apparently my dad spotted. "That serious already Taylor? I suppose I'd better grab a cup of coffee and meet you in the living room."

I sat on the couch, leaving dad's easy chair available for him for when he finished brewing his coffee. I giggled when I noticed that my runner was leaving four big footprints depressed in the carpet where it was standing off to the side. I didn't think he'd notice, but it would be amusing if he spotted them before I had a chance to explain properly.

My dad walked in, sipping his drink. "Well, at least you seem happy. So, where do you want to start? You mentioned you got powers in the locker?"

I nodded, meeting his gaze. "Yeah. It took me a while until I noticed because of the pain meds, but that is definitely when I got them. Its called a trigger event, and from what I've read, pretty much everyone with powers has gone through something really shitty to get them, which is part of why there are so many villains."

"I can see how that would contribute. I just about blew a gasket when your school called to let me know you were in the hospital." He appeared to be thinking hard.

"So you said you are a bio-tinker, is that because of the crap that you were shoved in the locker with?"

I nodded again. "Probably. They're pretty random, but powers usually have something to do with what you were going through when you got them."

Dad mulled that over while taking another drink. "So you mentioned you are bulletproof now, which I am thankful for, but what else have you done? You're not the sort to sit on your hands if you can be doing something."

Here it comes. Let's see how he deals with it... "Well... It's kind of hard to explain. I can engineer very complex organisms, or even whole species, but I can also control them as though they were just another body."

"I can tell you're not speaking hypothetically, so, what, you can switch bodies or something?"

"It's probably best if I just show you. Don't freak out OK?"

I faded into visibility as my runner and started speaking through her mouth. "Hi dad."

He choked on his coffee for a second before swallowing and setting the cup down. "Taylor?"

I waved the right arm on both bodies. "Yes dad, it's still me. There's just more of me now."

Apparently this struck his funny bone, because he dropped the serious look and started chuckling. "Oh dear. I hope the city can survive it."

"What, I'm not that bad am I?" I asked with a slightly hurt expression.

"My daughter is now a giant invisible lizard monster. I can see why you were being so cautious about the PRT."

I grinned. "Giant? Oh this isn't giant, this is tiny. I could make creatures the size of an office building. I just don't think that doing so is a good idea. The heroes might get a little bit nervous."

"Oh. Well that's nice." Dad appeared to just be content to stare into space after that comment.

I set my runner down on the floor in a more comfortable position while I waited for dad to come to terms with what I could do now. I tried not to laugh at the expression on his face.

After a minute or two, dad shook his head and picked up his now lukewarm coffee, taking a sip before making a face and setting it down again. "Well, what I really wanted to talk to you about was what your plans are for keeping yourself safe. You mentioned the Wards this morning, is that still your plan?"

"Yup, I don't mind joining them, and I recognize that there is no way they will allow someone with my powers free reign. That's why I want to build up some resources and establish a good relationship with the Police before I even approach the PRT."

I grimaced. "They're going to clamp down hard on what I can make. I've read the rules for Protectorate tinkers, they need to get every single invention approved before fielding it, and bio-tinkers are even worse, they have to get approval from two independent subject matter experts before they can be approved."

"So why the rush to build everything now, if it's just going to have to sit on the shelf before you can use it when you join?"

"That's the thing, the only exception that I've found is that a tinker's existing equipment is grandfathered in when they join to allow them to start training with their team-mates immediately, and there is no distinction for bio-tinkers there. I'm hoping to avoid the PRT until I build up my numbers a bit, so that they can't tell me I can never use any of my own creatures."

"Well, I'm certainly not going to force the issue. You sound like you've done your research and have a plan all laid out. Just promise me you won't go picking trouble with supervillains without backup."

He held up a finger. "Backup other than your own bodies Taylor, I know how your mind works." He was looking at me with a serious expression.

I tried to reassure him. "Don't worry dad, I don't plan on getting my human body in to fights at all, and my runners are basically expendable, It doesn't harm me if they die or anything. The only reason I'm planning on even making a costume is so that it can be grandfathered in when I join the wards."

"I'm glad you're taking your safety seriously Taylor." He grimaced as he finished off the rest of his coffee.

"So where does that leave us? I know you are thinking ahead, but I also know how dangerous the cape world can get from when your mom got mixed up with it in collage."

I decided to give the question serious thought before answering. He didn't appear to mind waiting for an answer.

"Well-" I paused. What _would_ keep me safest right now.

"Right now, I want to focus on building up a second base so that I don't have to start over if someone manages to damage my stuff, and I suppose I should also finally start on making a costume for when I have to interact with people properly."

He was already nodding part way through my explanation. "Yeah I agree, don't take this the wrong way, but I think that you'll gain some credibility with the police if you can interact as a normal person rather than a giant lizard monster."

I could picture it in my head, and it did paint a rather funny picture."OK, I'll finish my homework and start work on my costume design while I go start on my second base. Maybe on the weekend I can talk with the police properly to introduce myself."

Dad sighed. "I'm going to have to get used to sentences like that, aren't I?"

"Like what?"

"Never-mind." He waved me off. "I'll have supper ready in a while,I'm making lasagne, I'll call you down when it's done. Um, is your, ah, runner going to be staying for supper?"

"Ooh, I've never tried lasagne in that body before, so sure."

Dad just shook his head as he headed off to the kitchen, muttering to himself.

I had a costume to design.

I went to my room and pulled out some blank paper and some pencils.

Hmm. Aesthetic was fairly straightforward, same as my runners in 'non-threatening' mode, cobalt blue with gold borders and glowing blue tron lines. Smooth lines and soft curves.

Now, how armoured to make it. On a scale of latex bodysuit to powered exoskeleton, I know that dad would be happier with more protection, so that's one vote for the exoskeleton. It would be bulkier, but muscles and chitin are a lot quieter than servos and steel, plus I know I was going to be sticking a decent stealth coating on it, so the bulk didn't really bother me. Any other downsides to the big suit? Well, I suppose it's less portable, but it wouldn't be that hard to include enough neural tissue in the suit to have it walk around on it's own.

Now that I think of it, I could include enough redundant biology that it would count as it's own organism. I could even make sure the fat stores were in 'complementary' locations to help disguise my identity.

With my standard ablative, organic, composite, graphene based chitin, I could shrug off bullets, electricity, and some lasers. Overlapping plates of armour grade chitin over the critical core areas like my chest and major muscle groups for protection while maintaining some flexibility. I would just need to make sure that the back hinged open to allow for easy costume changes despite the armour's overall rigidity.

How much of my face to cover? Full coverage would be better for protection and obscuring my identity but would make eating awkward and defeat some of the purpose of being able to interact as a human to begin with. Eh, I'm over thinking it, I'll just make the lower half of the face-plate fold away when I want it to.

I sketched as I thought through the design. I'm no great artist, but at least I had some idea of what goes where before I committed the ideas to flesh. Now I just needed to parse the genetics to start growing the thing and I would be set. Fortunately, that was getting easier and easier these days. It only took a few hours to complete the genetic template that would allow me to grow a set of the armour by the weekend.

Now I could focus on math homework and hope that the planter came back in to range so that I could get started on my second base. I certainly wasn't going to be growing the seed next to my stomach this time if I could help it, the planter was much better equipped to deal with growing a base seed than I was.

O0O0o

[planter self] was in an abandoned garage. After looking around, no [humans!] present, [planter self] decided to start eating out of the grease trap to regain some of the the energy it had expended planting 17 [nodes] last night.

17 [nodes] was better than average, [planter self] was improving at [purpose], which was [beneficial result]

3 more hours before [darkness], then [change mode] from [hide/consume/rest] to [expand/explore/plant]

[planter self] would continue working in [expanding spiral], as [self] had directed.

2 more [nodes], then [planter self] would be at the water. [self] had not given instruction for planting in water, but to continue [expanding spiral] [planter self] would have to do so. How to continue [purpose]?

[planter self] would enter [self] [network] during [darkness] in order to - **[beacon]**

Ah! [self] was calling, [planter self] would enter [network] before [darkness]. This was [beneficial result].

 **[beacon]**

[planter self] left the garage, heading in the direction of [beacon]. [self] had good timing, as expected of [self]

 **[beacon]**

o0O0o

Wow, that was good timing, my planter just entered my range.

Wait.

I called it?

This bears thinking about.

Now that I was looking for it there were templates for beacons, long range nodes, and all manner of esoteric synapse structures, some of which I couldn't determine the purpose of just by looking at the genetics. I would have to do some experimenting when I had spare time and a lot of spare resources, some of those templates were very large.

I got the impression that the only reason my _call_ had worked this time was that my planter was so close to my range to begin with. If nothing else, I would want to build a beacon and a long range node somewhere safe in case I ever got separated from my network.

Enough distraction by admittedly fascinating templates, I had a base to design. Planting it in one of the mostly submerged boats in the boat graveyard made the most sense to me, it would be easy to hide among the other wrecks and any creatures could slip in to the bay unobtrusively. I could extend the roots into the silt of the bay easily for nutrients that I couldn't extract from the water directly.

Having photosynthetic mats covering a couple of old boat decks would go unnoticed. I suppose I could extend in to the bay itself with an algal cloud, but I think that the water turning black would be noticed and staying undetected was a lot more important for this base than fast production.

I didn't really need to modify anything to work safely in the salt water of the bay, my creatures would be just fine operating out of a sea of acid. If anything, I could extract some energy from the electrolysis of the rusting boat hulls in the salt water, and neutral buoyancy meant that making much larger creatures would be considerably more energy efficient there.

I directed the planter to start preparing a special seed, ready to plant through the rusty hull at the bottom of one of the larger boats. In a few hours I would have the beginnings of a brand new base of operations growing.

Oh, and I also resolved it's confusion about where to plant nodes that overlapped with the water. Since I wanted to be able to control my creatures in the bay as well, I had it just plan to continue planting nodes in the same pattern it had been. Albeit with the minor change that any nodes that were planted underwater would have a larger cap to make up for the light being absorbed by the water above it.

As the planter got to the edge of my range and slipped in to the water, I got to experience swimming underwater with one of my creatures for the first time. It was amazing! With my tail, I could swim so _fast_. With my senses I could detect everything despite the murky water of the bay. With my sense of taste alone, I could tell exactly what was in the water, and I just knew I would be able to find this place again, no mater where I was in the ocean.

I absolutely had to do some proper ocean exploration when I got a chance to build a long range node so that I could stay in contact with a synapse creature despite not being in range of my nodes. This was an awesome new hobby that I just had to explore.


	7. 1-6

1.6  
o0O0o0O0o

I think I finally cracked it. I was sitting in Ms. Knott's computer class on Wendsday morning, looking over my test post to PHO that was posted from my node at the library. It wasn't a particularly good connection, there just wasn't a good enough interface with the electronics, and I still couldn't make sense of video, but basic browsing, text, and pictures, I could do.

The solution ended up being surprisingly simple. The protocol itself wasn't the problem, it was designed to be as simple as it could reasonably be after all, but I had been having difficulties making any inputs. Turns out I just had to get my reaction times up fast enough to compensate for my incredibly low bandwidth interface. None of my templates helped me there, there was lots of bio-tech, but nothing for making mind-machine interfaces, or any interface with technology at all for that matter.

Now I had the equivalent of a dial up connection wired in to my brain. It's actually kind of impressive that I managed to get that good of a connection considering I was basically just smooshing electrosensitive flesh up against the cable at the library. It's a testament to how high I can crank my reaction times really.

With the connection working, I decided to do my homework for the day, while browsing PHO from the library node. Unsurprisingly, there wasn't anything about me so far that I could find. I had only helped with the arrest of two people so far, and I spent most of the time invisible. I doubt the old shop owner or the police dispatcher were the types to frequent PHO, and there wasn't really anyone else who would have had a chance to post about me yet.

Narcissism quota for the day met, I decided to browse the forums talking about tinkers starting out to see if I could glean any more useful insights. The offhand comment from a Ward over in California had ended up giving me the golden nugget about the grandfathering clause for joining up after all.

Most of the posts were about what you would expect, and much of it didn't apply to me as a bio-tinker, such as the proscription of radiologicals for all Wards. There were some interesting facts about Protectorate provided tinkering budgets and facilities though. Turns out that your materials budget was a product of both your seniority and how many successful designs you provided to the Protectorate. There was even a bonus for reverse engineering another tinker's work, or having your work figured out by a tinker like Dragon, encouraging good documentation. The reverse engineering bonus was pretty hefty, and it applied both to your overall materials budget as well as a one time bonus to your salary.

The information about the facilities was more applicable to me, since I basically didn't need a materials budget. The facilities you were provided depended on your tinker specialty, so there was a pretty big incentive to figuring out your specialty, since it would allow you more specialized facilities as well as a higher equipment budget. You could even apply to have some of your materials budget be provided as equipment for your lab or finished products that other Protectorate tinkers offered for sale.

I was just about finished with the tinker sub-forum when I spotted the section about selling your work to the Protectorate or PRT for field use. On a hunch, I looked up the specific wording of the agreement for the authorization process. Because it could apply to either the PRT or the Protectorate, the agreement stated that authorization required the approval of a branch of law enforcement as well as review by a qualified expert in the applicable field. Since there were so many potential tinker specializations, review could be granted by a non-powered expert.

The reason this was interesting to me was that the law didn't specify the Protectorate or the PRT by name, it was just assumed that those were the only branches of law enforcement that would be trying to approve tinker tech for field use, and they were the only ones with the expertise to grant approval anyway.

If I decided to make net launchers for the local police, they could approve the paperwork without speaking to the PRT at all, bypassing them entirely. So long as you could find a police officer that could conceivably count as a subject matter expert in the field you were dealing with, the PRT didn't even have to be informed, despite being the "experts" on tinker tech. I'm pretty sure it wouldn't be difficult to find a police officer that could be described as a "less-than-leathal weapon" expert.

Now I just had to print out the forms and build a prototype gun before I met with the police and I could seriously get in their good books by providing them with reliable tinker tech weapons to level the playing field with the gangs a little.

With that done, I leaned back in my chair and considered my school situation. Since my reversal of their prank on Monday, the trio had settled back in to observing me and giving me the occasional glare. I'm sure they'll get back to trying to actually bother me eventually, but for now I think I have them legitimately stumped.

They tried "the big one" with the locker, Sophia had tried getting physical a couple of times, but that doesn't bother me these days, and they were running out of petty sabotage that they could try without being unoriginal about it. That normally wouldn't have stopped them, but I had taken to critiquing their efforts and by the second time I got some giggles from surrounding students for calling their pranks unoriginal repeats, they decided that they weren't going to bother me that way either.

Here's hoping they can come up with something original by the time school lets out for the year. Or, y'know, _stop altogether_ , but I'm not going to wait on miracles.

My musings were interrupted by what sounded like firecrackers going off in the docks. I could just barely make out the sounds in the distance with my enhanced hearing, while the senses on my nodes were just good enough to triangulate roughly where the commotion was happening. Unless I missed my guess, based on the sounds and location, there was a running gun battle going on between the Azn Bad Boys and the Merchants. The Asian gang vs the Drug peddlers, joy. And there were some apartment blocks in the area that could get caught up in the crossfire.

My runner started heading in that direction at haste, hoping to intervene before too many people got hurt. On the plus side, neither gang had many capes, so the battle was unlikely to include any supervillans. On the minus side, it sounded like there were at least a dozen guns intermittently going off, and I only had six man sized nets and one vehicle sized net.

As my runner got closer, my assumption proved correct, it looked like there were about half a dozen Merchants defending what was probably a drug lab or distribution warehouse from an equal number of ABB goons armed with rifles.

The merchants were poking their heads out of the windows of the brick warehouse to take the occasional pot shot at ABB members that were scattered around whatever cover was available on the other side of the street. Most of them were hiding behind the engine blocks of cars, but one of the had decided to try his luck hiding behind a bus stop for some idiotic reason. Maybe he thought that if the bullets couldn't see him, they couldn't hit him?

I decided to try netting as many of the merchants as I could, then using up any remaining nets on the ABB before trying to scare the rest off. If I tried it the other way around, I doubt the merchants would retreat since they were defending an objective.

Heading around to the back of the warehouse, there was a graffiti covered rear entrance that was locked, but I just punched the door near the lock and sheared the deadbolt off. The gunfight out front was loud enough that I don't think that any of the merchants noticed me.

Luck appeared to be on my side as I rounded the corner, since there were three of the merchants bunched up, huddled together beneath the largest window. I wouldn't ever get a better shot.

'Thoomp'

Score! All three got tangled in my vehicle net, and since they were crouching, they wouldn't be able to get up properly to keep firing their guns.

I was already launching a net at the other visible merchant by the time the first three started swearing, so he didn't see it coming. He ended up stuck to an ancient looking filing cabinet, until he struggled enough to pull it down on top of himself, old papers flying everywhere.

"Ow, shit. Should have stayed home today." The merchant with a half open filing cabinet on top of him elected to lay there and wait until the whole thing was over.

Apparently one of the first three merchants still had a good enough position to use his gun, even if he couldn't stand up properly. He emptied the entire magazine in my general direction, hoping to hit me through blind luck. Two of the rounds managed to find me, but they didn't even seriously hurt, let alone cause any real damage.

The one shooting at me decided to gloat. "Fucking die, cocksucker! How do you like this!"

"Would you shut up, I can't even turn around man. And watch your elbow!" His ally had had enough of the situation.

I elected to ignore them as I made my way through the door in to the other half of the warehouse. It looks like the last two merchants were on either side of the open front door, alternating leaning out to shoot at the ABB and sneaking glances at where their allies were still arguing in the other room.

'Thwip, thwip'

Two rapid shots with the nets and they were down. I managed to get only the legs on one of them, but he dropped his gun when he fell over and it stuck to the netting on his legs so I wasn't too worried about him.

As I turned to head outside to use my remaining three nets, he managed to get up and start bunny-hopping towards the office at the rear of the room. I had to stop myself from laughing out loud at how ridiculous he looked, bunny-hopping across the room with his gun stuck to his legs, swearing like a sailor.

The ABB had noticed the drop off in fire coming in their direction, two of them were cautiously advancing while the rest did their best to cover them.

'Thwip. Thwip'

Two ABB down, one net remaining. If I revealed myself before firing the last net, they might think that I had more left, so when I was half way across the street, I faded into visibility. I quickly moved away from the downed ABB member that was close by as the four that were left opened fire. I didn't want the one on the ground to get shot up.

"Chou biaozi!" Screamed the man that I was headed towards, apparently content to insult me in a language that wouldn't mean anything to me.

'Thwip'

My last net sailed through the air, wrapping itself around his torso and head in an inversion of the merchant I tagged earlier. Since he didn't fall over, he apparently decided that discretion was the better part of valor and started awkwardly running away from me. This worked out better than I had hopped, since the last three remaining gang members saw that their bullets weren't working and their friend was running away, they started looking indecisive about continuing the fight.

"Hey you cocksucking lizard! You forgot about me!" The merchant who had bunny-hopped away had obviously been busy, he pulled the pin on a grenade and chucked it at me. Psycho fucking merchants keeping a grenade in a drug house! The remaining ABB members fled, hoping to avoid the explosion.

While I knew that I would survive the blast, the second ABB member I had downed was on the ground nearby and couldn't run away because of the netting. While the grenade was bouncing down the street, I moved myself in between where it looked like it would end up and the guy on the ground, turning sideways to present a bigger target.

' **BANG** '

Ow, that fucking hurt. Right in the spiracle. Most of the shrapnel bounced off my armour, just leaving slight gouges, but one lucky shot hit right in my third left spiracle, causing me to drip blood for a few seconds before my clotting plugged the hole. I was glad that I could freely ignore pain these days, or I would be doubled over from that.

With the situation basically in hand, I was just deciding what to do when I heard Armsmaster's motorcycle approaching. I didn't really want to get tangled up with the Protectorate yet, so I decided to retreat and let the heroes deal with all the downed gang members.

Turning invisible again, I headed back to base to fish out the piece of shrapnel that had lodged itself in my side. Still, pretty good result I think, no one ended up dying and only minor injuries all around.

As I was walking back to base, I was coming up with a net launcher design that would work for a regular human. Today showed that you could use up six or seven shots up very quickly, which wouldn't be a problem for me once I had more runners, but it could be a problem for the Police. So, twelve man sized nets, with the ability to grow fresh nets at a rate of about one per hour given you kept your gun fed.

Adding a trigger was trivial, as was adding rudimentary sights on the thing for aiming. It would be a little bit bulky, but not any heavier than a normal Police shotgun.

In order to make them a little bit less dependent on me, I decided to make them a manufacturing pod. So long as you fed it enough, It would pump out a new net-launcher every two days or so, and it would be about the size of an office printer.

Hmm. Paranoia is a girl's best friend, I had better add just enough neural tissue for me to remotely deactivate the manufacturing pod as well as the guns, no sense in having them fall in to the wrong hands.

I'm pretty sure I'm going to make so many friends with this, as well as save lives. Lets see the PRT try to arrest the only supplier of tinker tech equipment for the mundane Police officers of the city without getting thrown out of office. Heh.


	8. 1-7 Armsmaster Interlude

1.7 Armsmaster Interlude  
o0O0o0O0o

Armsmaster was in his lab on the Rig out in the bay, working on improving the retraction system for the grapple gun built in to his halberd when he received a text that he brought up on his visor.

 **Dir. Piggot** : "Colin, the police just called and let me know there is a new "monster cape" running around with a net-launcher, could you go investigate?"

Annoyed with the inefficiency of trying to hold a conversation with texts, Colin decided to head off the director by calling her. After two rings, he was patched straight through to her office.

"Yes, Armsmaster?" Came the curt reply.

"I was hoping for more details director. Is there any indication that they are a hero or villain?"

"I was told that they helped foil a break-in, so I'm assuming they want to be a hero. If possible, I want you to approach them and offer a place in the Protectorate. Emphasize the fact that we have resources available to case 53's to help them deal with their memory loss and lack of legal identity."

"Yes director. I'll head over to the police station now. Was there anything else?"

"Yes. Please remind those knuckleheads over at the BBPD that the correct term is 'Case 53', not 'monster cape'. We really do not need another video online of some case 53 losing it because they were called a monster one too many times."

"Yes director." With that, Colin tapped the side of his visor, ending the call even as he started getting his power armour on. With his primary halberd currently in pieces on his workbench, Colin elected to bring his back-up, allowing it to clamp to the magnetic locks on the back of his armour.

He strode through the rig towards the garage, pleased with the nods of respect he got from the PRT soldiers and technicians in the halls. When the pre-drive diagnostics on his motorcycle returned all green, he eased the bike towards the heavy doors on the side of the room, pausing to activate the Rig's force field bridge and open the doors with some quick eye movements on his visor.

As he gunned his bike down the bridge, Colin had a rare, savage grin on his face. Sometimes, working on an re-purposed oil rig, removed from the city was a bother, but it was worth it for the chance to truly test the limits of his bike with no obstacles or interruptions.

On his way through the city, Colin was pondering the arrival of the new cape on the scene. Case 53's had a difficult lot in life, between their amnesia and their lack of legal identity. It was good that this one appeared to want to be a hero, but he wouldn't be surprised if the 'lizard cape' ended up joining with Faultline's crew. The local mercenary group already had a couple of case 53's, and they were known to be pretty tightly knit; they would probably extend an invitation to join them if they could get a hold of the cape before the protectorate.

To be entirely fair, they probably offered a pretty attractive deal if you were a case 53. The Protectorate tried, but there were always image problems associated with trying to be public heroes as something that was commonly referred to as a monster by the public at large. Being hidden away from the public view probably held a lot of appeal in that circumstance, and Faultline's crew were nothing if not discrete.

As he parked his bike and approached the Police headquarters building, one of the officers opened the door for him and called out. "Armsmaster, the chief is expecting you, I'll take you there."

"Thank you officer," he looked at the name tag on the officers shirt, "Alder."

With commendable efficiency, they traveled to the office at the end of the hall on the second floor of the building.

"Sir, Armsmaster here to see you."

"Thank you, that should be all." Came the quiet voice from inside the office.

As he stepped through the door, Colin took in the sight of the Chief of Police, Denise Greer. She had a stocky build for a woman, and looked slightly haggard, but was smiling.

"It's good to see you again Armsmaster, the damn gangs are giving me no rest, so it's nice to be discussing the new hero."

"You mentioned that she looked like a lizard? I'm also interested in learning about the net-launcher she was using."

"Yes, that's what I've been told. None of our officers actually saw her, but she described herself as looking like a blue and gold lizard. Called herself 'Hive'. You're welcome to take the nets that we recovered to examine them, I know we don't have the facilities for it here." She paused, obviously trying to remember the details of the case.

"Don't quote me on this, but I think the store owner mentioned that the launcher was built in to her arm. Damned nets were just about impossible to remove until we used vinegar on them, one of the perps had just about pulled his hair out with the net before we got there."

Colin was puzzled. "Vinegar? What would make you decide to use that?"

Denise smirked. "Hive told us that it would make the nets come off of whatever they were stuck to. Damned sight glad she did too, it would have taken the skin off if we had just tried to peel the things off."

"I wonder what chemical reaction could produce..." Colin shook his head.

"Oh, and the director asked me to remind you to refer to Case 53's as such, to avoid giving offense."

"Yes, when I heard the recording of the call, I had the dispatcher reprimanded." Denise grimaced. "You would think that at least the Police would know better. Still, it won't be a problem again."

Colin was relieved that the director's comment had been received fairly. "Anyway, thank you for the information Chief Greer. I'll stop by to grab the nets, then get out of your hair."

"Hah!" The chief barked out a laugh, startling Colin.

At his look, she explained, struggling to keep a straight face. "Net, hair..." She took a breath. "If you had see the robber when he came in, trying to rip his own hair out to get out of that net, you would be laughing too."

She waved off his still puzzled expression. "Had to have been there. I'll talk to you later Armsmaster."

He simply nodded and left the room, still trying to figure out what had been so funny.

o0O0o

Back in his lab, Colin was examining the net under a microscope. The epoxy coating the wire had some interesting properties, but what really intrigued him was the carbon nano-structure wire itself. It was very strong and flexible, and it had an incredible expansion factor, but once it stretched to a certain point, it became completely taut and didn't allow any further stretching.

Honestly, it was giving him some ideas for replacing the braided kevlar line in his own grapple unit. Something was bothering him about it, although he couldn't quite put his finger on what it was.

He decided to consult with the only other Tinker he truly respected, the Canadian cape Dragon. He sent off a quick message asking for her to call him when she had some available time, and like was often the case with Dragon, he got a response within seconds.

The face on the screen was rather plain, but she was one of the only people Colin considered to be a friend, so he was happy to see her.

"Hello Colin, I was just going over our outline for the Endbringer predictive software, did you want to chat about that?"

"Perhaps later Dragon. No, I was curious to hear what your reaction was to a particular substance I ran across. I'll send you the files and images."

"You're being very vague, do you not have much information about it?" Dragon seemed puzzled, but not offended. Colin was glad, he knew he had a tendency to offend people for reasons he couldn't figure out and he didn't want to alienate Dragon.

"I didn't want to bias your thoughts."

"OK, I'll take a look. Hmmm. Very strong, extremely so. Yet retains it's flexibility. Expands freely, but to a finite degree. Is it for shock absorption?"

"Not quite, it's used to restrain people safely." She smiled at guessing close to the correct application.

"Oh, yes, I can see how that would work. It's very well designed in either case. I'd quite like a sample to try recreating it if you get a chance." Dragon looked pleased.

Colin paused for a second. There was something about the way she had phrased that...

"That's what was bugging me! It looks designed, and yet it comes from a biological source. I just can't figure out how it would be both. If it were from a case 53..." He trailed off.

"Wouldn't that just mean you're dealing with a bio-tinker then?" Dragon jumped ahead of him in the logic chain.

"Yes, yes. I was thrown off because I thought the source was a case 53, but if it's a product of a bio-tinker, it would make much more sense. Thank you for your help Dragon, I need to look something up."

Dragon smiled at him. "You know I'm always pleased to help you Colin. I'll talk to you later."

Colin pulled up the recording of the original call with the police dispatcher. He paled. He needed to speak with the director at once. Composing a message as he headed out again, Colin prepared for the uncomfortable conversation that he knew was coming.

o0O0o

"So what's so important Armsmaster? You don't normally make the effort to come out to the PRT building just for a meeting." Director Piggot was frowning.

Colin cleared his throat. "Director, I discovered some important information about the new cape that I thought should be brought to you immediately."

"What, that lizard case 53? What's so special about them?" Her frown, if anything, got deeper.

"That's just it director, I have reason to believe that they are not a case 53 or Changer."

"Quit beating around the bush Armsmaster, spit it out already."

"I have reason to believe that they are the product of a bio-tinker."

Piggot paled dramatically. "You have evidence of this?"

"Yes director. I'll just play the clip. This is taken from the recording of the original police call with the cape tentatively called 'Hive'."

"'What should I put down for your name?'

'Hive'

'And you're one of those monster capes? The owner said you look like a big lizard.'

'Pretty much, yes. I'm a biological construct shaped like a big lizard with six limbs. I'm blue and gold.'"

"Straight from the Devil's mouth." Muttered the director in a strangled voice.

Colin shifted uneasily in front of her desk. "I know that bio-tinkers are somewhat of a sensitive topic for you director-"

" **Sensitive** fucking topic! I lived through Nilbog's massacre of Elisburg, I'll not live to see another if I can do anything about it." She stood, almost knocking over her chair as she did so, then pointed at Colin.

"Armsmaster, this right now is your top priority. I want information on this bio-tinker, and I want them brought to heel. Whether that's under our control or in a body bag, I don't rightly care, but I will not have Brockton Bay turn into a second Elisburg!"

Armsmaster knew a dismissal when he saw one. He saluted. "Right away director."

With that, he left, thinking about how he was going to track down a lizard that could turn invisible.

o0O0o

Armsmaster was patrolling. Two days later and he still didn't have any good ideas for how to make contact with 'Hive' other than stumbling into them. He wouldn't allow his lack of progress to hold him back from doing his other duties though, hence, patrolling.

It had been a quiet morning so far, but there was almost always something happening in the docks, you just had to look for it.

Gunfire in the distance.

Or, you could just stumble on it.

Accelerating, Armsmaster had his helmet run analysis on the sound of the gunfire. There were more than three and less than six distinct guns, firing in at least two calibers.

As he got closer, the rate of fire was steadily dropping, until it cut out altogether. Just when he thought that it was probably over, there was a loud bang.

His helmet software identified it as a fragmentation grenade going off, and he was getting close. Two more blocks, then around the corner and he would be upon them.

He was unsurprised to see a member of the ABB fleeing away from the direction of the explosion. Even gang members had a sense of self preservation it seemed. As he rounded the corner, Colin performed a quick threat assessment. Looked like there was no one still firing, but there were several people bound up in very familiar looking nets.

Since it didn't look like there were any capes on the scene, other than possibly Hive, he called in the altercation to the Police.

"This is Armsmaster of the Protectorate. There was a running gang battle over on 3rd and St. Clair. There are several gang members for pickup. I don't see any injured, but an ambulance would be prudent."

"Acknowledged Armsmaster. I'm sending you a wagon for pickup now."

With the niceties complete, Armsmaster decided to investigate the scene before too much evidence got disturbed.

The gang members in nets didn't hold his interest, he already had examples of them in his possession, awaiting further study. Of note however were the flattened bullets in the middle of the street. It looked like Hive had been hit but unharmed, proving that her armour was likely as good as her nets.

He idly noticed that the police had arrived and were dragging gang members in to their wagon, albeit with some difficulty given that one of them was stuck to a filing cabinet and three of them were bound together. It looked like one of the Police officers had a pair of shears and was working on trying to separate the gang members for transport.

Of more interest however was that near the small crater in the pavement, he spotted a small smudge of red. Unless he was totally incorrect in his assumptions, Hive had been injured by the grenade and had left some blood at the scene.

He carefully collected some in a small sample kit he kept in the boot of his motorcycle. It should prove invaluable to analyze and see what could be learned from the genetics. Even though it wasn't his field, Armsmaster made it a point of pride that he studied the sciences outside of his field of expertise so that he would never be left standing there like a gormless idiot when trying to analyze another tinker's work.

Surely with a little bit of effort, he could shine some light on what Hive was doing.

o0O0o

"What the Hell!"

Quadruple helix, 64 base pairs that he could identify, three orders of magnitude more information dense than DNA! What the fuck was Hive making that needed that level of information density in its genetic code?


	9. 2-1

2.1  
o0O0o0O0o

Everything was coming together. My suit of exoskeleton armour was ready, my second runner was ready, and my third one was nearly complete. It's good to have two bases. Other than finishing off the fabrication pod for the Police, I was pretty much ready to meet with them on the weekend.

I had enough spare time and resources now that I felt comfortable building some of the synapse hardware deep in the bay, where it would be well protected. I could always set up a redundant set underground in the sewers or something, but for now one should be plenty.

Still wasn't entirely sure what some of the more esoteric synapse structures were for. Most of them were built in to freaking bio-spaceships so I suspect that they were a little overkill for my needs at the moment. A couple are just in the organisms with _huge_ brains. Like huge to the point that they practically have vestigial _bodies_.

I'm very slowly starting to unravel some of the math necessary to understand what they even _do_. Something about mass? Gravity? Distance? The concepts were so closely intertwined it was hard to separate them.

I'd start with just a beacon and a long range relay though. The beacon would act a little bit like GPS, it should mean that any body that gets separated from my network will know where it is in relationship to the network. That way any stray bodies can always find their way back. Not hugely necessary right now, but it doesn't take much to build.

The other one was more important. A long range relay will allow me to have creatures in the network far outside of my normal maximum range. They would have to be synapse creatures themselves, or at least have such a creature close by, but it will finally allow me to venture out of Brockton Bay if I want to.

How cool would it be to go on the equivalent of a road trip across America? Just seeing the sights and scoping out new and better locations for bases. No sense in letting Behemoth or Leviathan show up and just squish me after all. If I'm in more than one place, I'll be that much harder to get rid of if it all goes wrong.

After I was done making those, I should probably test what happens when I actually leave synapse range. Hey, that would be the perfect opportunity for me to test out my suit! No one will look funny at me tearing around as fast as a car if they can't see me after all.

With my plans set, my planter swam deeper in to the bay. It was already in the water, planting nodes on the silty bottom, now I just need to pick a good place to grow my relay and my beacon.

I found the perfect place slightly off center from the middle of the bay. There was an ancient rock formation forming a shallow cave at the bottom, mostly filled in with silt. It was the work of seconds for my planter to dig its way a couple of meters down in the loose sediment. The two seeds I placed will grow slower than usual without access to sunlight but they should have no trouble extracting chemo-synthetic energy from the surrounding sediment and saltwater. Of course the advantage is that it would take an exceptionally _large_ nuke to actually destroy them beneath all the water, sediment, and stone.

Now that I considered it, it would be useful to have data points from before and after my relay is in place. My human body got up from where I was sitting at my desk.

"Hey dad." May as well let him know I'll be going, so he doesn't worry.

"Yes Taylor?" I hear him padding down the hall to talk to me.

"I wanted to go test my new suit and verify that it still works if I leave the range of my base. Want to come see my base and check out my new suit?"

"Hmm? Well, I wasn't doing anything else this evening. Are you sure you'll be safe roaming around by yourself?" He leaned on the door frame of my room.

"Yes dad. I'll stay invisible the whole time and while wearing my suit I should be able to shrug off sniper rounds. That was basically the reason I made it after all."

This got me a nod, and he started heading for the front hall.

"I'll go grab my keys then. Where are we headed?"

"You know the old abandoned garden supply shop a few minutes north of here? That's where I built it."

He chuckled. "Closer than I thought, I was imagining a mountain lair or something I guess."

" _Daaad_ , I wouldn't do that for my first base! The lairs built into the mountains come later. Just before the underwater cities really."

He nodded, keeping a straight face. "Of course, how could I forget. Then you get the flying bases and space stations right?"

I followed him out the front door, closing it behind us.

"You know, that gives me some ideas." I actually thought about it. Space stations I could do, but the flying base would be tricky. I bet I could manage to get some of the large flying templates to stay in the air indefinitely if I really worked at it. The hard part would be making a growth chamber inside of one.

Dad sighed before opening the car door. "If only your mother could see you now kiddo. She would jump right in there making suggestions, and I'm pretty sure you could actually pull some of them off, so maybe I shouldn't joke about it."

I got in as well, the car sagging more than you would expect for someone my size. "I miss her too dad."

We rode in silence, thinking about mom. The sad thing was, I think that this was the first time we had actually talked openly about her since her death. I was glad that my powers had given me a chance to reconnect to dad, we had been drifting apart for a long time.

When we got to the old abandoned store dad forced some cheeriness into his voice. "Well we're here, let's see what all the fuss is about."

We entered through the main entrance, it's lock had corroded shut some time ago, before someone forced it. These days, I had some discreet doorstops grown out of the ground that would block the doors unless I mentally opened them. My hope was that people would just notice that the lock was corroded shut and assume that's why they couldn't get in.

As we walked through the doors a wave of warm, humid air hit us. You could just make out the inside of the store by the afternoon sunlight filtering through the windows.

I could tell that dad was a little underwhelmed, so I felt the need to explain. "I wanted it to still look like an abandoned building if anyone stumbled in. A lot of the growth is in the walls, under the floors, and on the roof."

I started walking towards the storeroom in the back of the shop. "The actual growing happens back here, through another locked door."

Deciding to play up the dramatic reveal, I activated the glow-lines on the nearly complete runner in its translucent pod and had my suit stand at parade rest with its glow-lines active as well.

Dad stepped in to the back room, doing a double take at the glowing creatures as his eyes adjusted to being in a room with no windows to let light in.

While he was still staring, I walked around to the back of my armour and hinged it open. Everything looked good, so I climbed in. It only took a few seconds for the armour to seal me in.

Speaking in the voice my runners used, which was a little lower and and a little smoother than my normal voice, I spoke to dad. "So, what do you think? Pretty cool right?"

"Very impressive. Very intimidating as well."

I looked down at myself, frowning. That isn't what I was going for. "Well, do I at least look like a hero?"

He smiled in response. "Sure you do. You just give off the air of a take no nonsense type cape like Alexandria, not one of the sillier ones like Mouse Protector. Not surprising really, you always did want to grow up to be Alexandria."

"Yes, well." I blushed, remembering my Alexandria lunch box.

I think he could tell that I was a bit uncomfortable, because he looked around until he spotted something unfamiliar, the production unit for the Police.

"What's that?" He asked, pointing to the boxy shape growing in a pod.

"That's a production unit for making human usable net-launchers. I was going to give it to the police on the weekend, see if it would help them out with the gangs a little."

"Huh, how are you hoping to sell it to them? You know it could cause some uproar if they started using living guns out of nowhere."

I walked over to the unit. "Yeah, it will make as many as they want, but I don't expect them to use them right away. I was planning on introducing myself to the police at the same time, get them used to the idea. I'll let them decide how to handle the press and such."

I paused for a moment.

"Actually, with a couple of runners and some allies at the Police department, I should be ready to at least talk to the PRT soon. I'm sure they know I exist by now, since I've been leaving nets all over the place. I don't want them to try to declare me a villain, and I'm sure they'll try if they can't get a hold of me sooner or later."

"Well, so long as you keep me informed, I don't mind covering for you Taylor. We can keep your identity safe for a while longer I bet."

He looked over at my runner. "How long until that one is ready?"

"It'll be ready by tonight. It's only my third runner but with two bases I can produce a new one about every other day.

"Well, let me know before you take over the city, kiddo."

I laughed. "Sure thing dad. There's not much more to see around here but feel free to poke around. I want to go test my range. I'll make sure to be back home before ten."

"Alright, I'll probably head home then. No offense but it's kind of dark in here for mere mortals and I didn't bring a flashlight. Thanks for letting me see it though."

"No problem." After he was out of the back room, I turned off the glow-lines and turned invisible.

"I'll think about adding some bio-luminescence or something for next time. See you back at home."

He was already out the front doors and even though he couldn't see me he called out to me.

"Sure, but make sure to bring your suit. I didn't get a good look at it yet, and I want to see it in better light."

"No problem dad."

With that, I decided to see how fast I could run with my all new enhanced muscles. I left gouges in the slush covered dead sod in front of the old store as I accelerated, throwing chunks of dirt and snow behind me.

It was exhilarating. I blew past a car slowly puttering down the city streets and kept accelerating. Now _this_ was running. The cool evening air rushed past me, fueling both my lungs and my suit with every breath. I don't know if exercise actually helps me anymore since I grow my muscles at peak performance, but I might have to take up running anyway. This was just too fun.

On the way out of town, I developed a game of leaping over all the cars that were headed in the same direction as me. Normal passenger vehicles were easy, but delivery vans were more of a challenge and I had to really work at it to manage the dump truck. Inside the suit, I let out a whoop when I cleared it.

It only took me minutes to get near the edge of my range. I was feeling strangely apprehensive about taking the final plunge though. I knew I would be fine, but it had turned in to my safety blanket these past weeks. Feeling part of something larger had become a part of who I was, and I didn't want to lose it again.

With the last rays of sun slipping over the horizon, I moved the last little bit.

o0O0o

The first thing that struck me was how _quiet_ everything was. There was me, and the tiny presence from my suit, and that was it. My mind was racing, but it practically felt like I was in a meditative trance right now. All of the background thoughts and calculations that had been building up over the past few weeks, night and day were suddenly just _gone_.

It was a strange feeling to be _alone_ again. No more alone then everyone else was all the time but unlike everyone else, I wasn't used to it anymore.

I don't think I enjoy it very much. It's kind of. Peaceful. I guess. But not enough to make up for being so _small_.

Was it addictive being part of a Hivemind? Did I care?

It's not like I was going to make a habit of leaving my range after all, and it would become even less common after my relay was done growing. So, I guess it didn't matter much in the end. For better or for worse, that's what I was now.

With a lot on my mind, I slowly walked back towards my network.

o0O0o

With the last rays of sun slipping over the horizon, my body moved the last little bit.

Hmmmm?

Oh.

Now this was interesting.

My body left the network, I just watched it, and yet I'm still _here_.

I knew that in total my nodes represented several times my body weight in neural tissue but I hadn't really considered what that _meant_.

My thoughts were still clicking along fine, my runners still running, my planter still planting, and I was still _me_. But I'm not entirely sure what that was anymore. I suppose I was the Hivemind. Certainly not Taylor, she had just left. Yet just as certainly I _was_ {Taylor}.

I was {Taylor's} mind, but I wasn't her brain. My sense of self was tied to her identity, not her body. Did this mean I was immortal? I could be killed, certainly, but I'm not sure I can _die,_ so long as enough neural tissue exists to support me.

Well, I know I wasn't going to tell anyone else about this, that's for sure. They would call me a monster, and I'm not entire sure they would be incorrect. I definitely wasn't a human mind.

The stars sure were pretty tonight though. I wonder If I'll ever get a chance to go there...


	10. 2-2

2.2  
o0O0o0O0o

I did not think this through.

I was all ready to go to the police, I had my suit, I had a runner with me, the production unit was ready with all the paperwork necessary, I had even called ahead on their non-emergency number to let them know that I wanted a meeting today.

And then I remembered that my production unit can't turn invisible.

Obvious in hindsight, but it just didn't occur to me that it would ever need it. Now I needed to get it to the police station somehow. I could have just asked dad for a ride, but that could expose his identity. If I had thought to do so ahead of time, I could have built what amounts to an invisibility cloak to drape over it.

Maybe I should make one for the future. Some energy reserves and just enough skin for the light spectrum camouflage, a little bit of neural tissue to run the thing and Bob's your uncle.

As it stood though, if it didn't fit in the mouth of my runner, I couldn't make it turn invisible.

So, what were my options?

I could just call it off for today, wait until I had an invisibility cloak. Downside is that I already called to let them know I was coming today, and it would look bad to have to reschedule a meeting I had asked for.

I had already figured out that asking dad for a ride wouldn't work.

I could just brazenly walk down the street carrying the production unit. Or carry it while I was invisible I suppose, but I didn't really see the advantage of freaking people out with a floating box.

I could... get it delivered? OK, I was stretching there.

Dang it, I think the only real option was to carry the stupid thing to the police office. I was planning on introducing myself to the public soon anyway, but I guess I get to do it a little bit early.

Now, should I have the runner with me be visible or not? It would let people know right away that I am a bio-tinker/Master, which will eventually come out anyway. Showing it would allow people more time to get used to the idea, but it would also give more time for conspiracy nut-jobs to talk about it.

If I do a good job with my public interactions and let a couple of people film me to get my word out there first, it would count for a lot. It could even end up being a benefit to me if I get a chance to start forming public opinion before the PRT can try to shape my image one way or another. It would totally be like them to pretend that I was just wearing power armour and never allow me to use a runner, if it would help their PR to pretend that they didn't have a bio-tinker in town.

OK, that pretty much settled it. My runner picked up the robin's-egg blue cuboid that was the production unit and carefully settled it on its back. With four legs for stability and two arms to hold it in place, I wasn't worried about it tipping over.

Caution dictated that I make sure no one was watching my base when I left it so I invisibly walked through the front door. No sign of anyone on the street, and this area was pretty dead even on a Saturday.

With that accomplished I walked out the door with my runner carrying it's box. It wasn't a direct line through the boardwalk to get to the BBPD headquarters, but it was close enough that I think it was worth stopping by for the extra exposure from Saturday morning shoppers.

I moved at a quick jog until I actually spotted the first pedestrians. There were a couple of funny looks and more than a few double takes, but no one seemed to be freaking out so far.

Nearing the boardwalk, I slowed from a walk to a crawl. I didn't want to startle anyone, especially since I could now see people filming on their phones.

No one was brave enough to come up and ask me any questions yet but some of the braver ones were edging closer. Hey, was that a TV crew? Couldn't ask for a better way to get my message out.

Strolling in to the background of their shot, I waited to be noticed. The cameraman noticed me first, going wide eyed at the slightly comical look of my runner carrying a big blue box on its back.

I politely waited until the newscaster noticed that her crew was all staring behind her and she turned around. Commendably, she kept rolling without any appearance of surprise, jumping right in to politely questioning me. I guess this would make for a more interesting story than whatever they were filming for a filler piece before I got there.

"And I'm joined now by a new cape on the scene. Would you like to introduce yourself to the viewers at home?"

I faced the camera and spoke with my human body in the tones I was coming to think of as my swarm voice, a little lower than my regular speaking voice. "Hi, my name is Hive and I'm a new independent hero. I'm a bio-tinker and this creature here is one that I made, I call it a runner."

"Independent? So does that mean you have some problem with the Protectorate?" She was fishing for drama, but I had an answer ready.

"Hardly, I just haven't had a chance to meet any of the heroes yet. When I finally do, I intend to join them."

"Well, I'm sure our viewers will be glad that there is another hero on the scene. Now, I've just got to ask, what's in the box?" The cameraman panned over a little bit to focus on it.

"I'm just starting out, but I decided that the civic minded thing to do would be to donate some tinker-tech to the Brockton Bay Police Department, to help them keep the city safe."

"And what sort of tinker-tech is it?" Hmm. Didn't really feel like answering that one yet.

"I'm afraid I'll have to leave that to the BBPD to announce, I wouldn't want to give away the surprise."

"Well you heard it here first folks, this was Catherine Sullivan from channel four news interviewing the new independent hero Hive."

Once the cameras stopped rolling and the techs were packing up, Catherine turned back to me. "Thanks for being a good sport about the spontaneous interview. It's not really my field normally, but the chance was just too good to pass up."

Since that was the whole idea I certainly didn't mind, but I wouldn't dismiss her gratitude over it.

"Sure, no problem. I'm just glad to get my message out. I'd better get going though." As I moved off at a slow walk, I waved back at the news crew.

Everything was going better than I had expected so far. Maybe I was just letting the conspiracy theory crazies get to me, and the general public just didn't know enough about capes to care all that much. If this continued over to how well the PRT reacted, I would have a lot less to worry about than I thought.

As I made my way down the boardwalk, most people kept their distance but one or two would come a little closer for a better look. Most of the questions I got were the same as I answered for the news but a couple managed unique questions.

"Hey, so that's called a runner right? So how fast can it run?" The teen had obviously overheard one of the other people asking _what_ it was.

"Well, I've never had a proper test but I'm pretty sure it can go as fast as a cheetah can, so that would be a bit over 60 miles per hour?" I'm actually pretty sure I could go a bit faster, but I didn't want to overstate my abilities.

"Coooooool."

Almost done getting through the majority of the mid-Saturday crowds, I was stopped by a well bundled kid, maybe ten or eleven.

"Hi, can I pet your lizard? I've got a pet bearded dragon so I know about lizards, but I've never heard of one _that_ big before."

I could see his mother going wide eyed and muttering under her breath. It was only because of my enhanced hearing that I could make out what she said.

"Oh God Sam. When we get home you are going to get in so much trouble over this."

I suppose I should probably answer 'if your mother thinks it's OK', but I had to admit, it would be pretty good optics to have a little kid pet the 'monster' and have nothing bad happen. I had the runner crouch slightly.

"Sure, go ahead."

He took a glove off and ran his hand over the back of my runner.

"Wow, it's so smooth. How come?"

Amusingly, he was actually the first person who thought to ask about the runner's carapace.

"That's so that nothing can stick to her." This answer seemed to satisfy him.

"Huh. Well thanks pretty lady." I was glad I currently had my face covered. It wouldn't do to be seen blushing just because some kid called you pretty, but I couldn't help it. That was the first time I could think of that someone had directly complimented my appearance other than my dad.

"No problem. Now, you probably want to go talk to your mother, she looks pretty mad that you ran off ahead of her."

"Uh oh." And with that, my admirer walked off.

As the crowds died off, I made it the rest of the way to the Police headquarters mostly uninterrupted.

When I got to the front doors, I could see an officer that was waiting for me.

"Welcome, Hive. You mentioned that you wanted to discuss something with Brockton Bay's police department?"

"Yes. I wanted to donate some tinker-tech net-launchers to the police and I was hoping to speak to someone who could authorize something like that."

"Well, the captain is prepared to speak to you, so I'll show you the way."

He led us down the hall to a comfortably furnished interview room, where I set the production unit down in the corner. The captain arrived a minute later and closed the door behind himself.

"Hello Hive, I'm captain Bates. I was told you had something to discuss with me?" I shook his hand, glad that he decided that he didn't need to play dominance games with grip strength. Or perhaps just deciding that he would lose to someone in power armour.

"Yes, I am interested in donating some net-launchers to the BBPD to help you apprehend criminals."

"Ah, those nets you've been using? Those things have been the talk of the department since you helped bag those two on Monday."

His happy attitude slipped off his face. "Unfortunately, I don't have the authority to give the go ahead for something like that. The ball is totally in the PRT's court. I know some department's have managed to work out a deal with the PRT to use some of their foam sprayers or other gizmos, but the local branch has never wanted to play ball."

"I have paperwork here that can authorize the field use of tinker-tech, provided it gets signed by someone in your department." He looked surprised at that.

"Really? I had heard about some of the cops in New York using tinker made body armour, but I had always assumed that they just managed to work out a deal with the PRT." He drummed his fingers on his desk for a moment.

"Tell you what, I like the idea but it's really above my pay grade. I'll see if I can get the chief in here if you don't mind waiting and we'll see what we can work out."

"Sure, I don't mind waiting." He gave my runner one last glance, then left the room.

I entertained myself by trying to identify the potted plants in the room before the chief had a chance to get here. I only had one to go when she walk in.

"So, I'm told you want to give the BBPD some tinker-tech?" The chief got straight to the point as she pulled up the chair to the big desk.

"Yes, I brought a production unit that will make net-launchers roughly every two days so long as you keep it supplied." I pointed to the unit in the corner of the room.

She looked a little doubtful, so I brandished the paperwork I had brought. "I have the necessary paperwork to authorize field use, you just need to get a qualified subject matter-"

She waved me off. "Yes, yes. I know about the paperwork. The problem arises from the fact that it's almost never worth the dick waving contest it starts because the police are encroaching on the PRT's little _fiefdom_."

I frowned. I wasn't really expecting that answer. "Well, I suppose I could always just take it back? I just wanted to help out a little."

"Yes, but you would be seen leaving with it, and if someone put two and two together it would cause me just as many headaches."

"Um. I _may_ have already told the news that I was making a donation of tinker-tech to the police. Sorry"

"Dammit. Well if the damage is already done I may as well get the benefit out of it. Those nets are pretty impressive technology, and you said that the machine over there makes the launchers?"

"Yes, just keep it fed and it will turn them out in about two days."

She looked a little leery. "Fed with what?"

"Whatever really; paper, plastic, garbage. If the machine can't process something it will just drop that material out the chute in the bottom there."

I walked over to the production unit and opened up the top to take out the completed net-launcher that was already in there. "The guns come out here. They're just point and shoot, no danger of overpenetration even if the net fails to deploy."

Handing the gun over, she examined it closely. "I don't see a magazine anywhere, do you just feed the nets in the hole in top of the stock here?"

"It actually produces it's own ammo. Just push anything calorie dense in there and it makes about one net per hour. The little patch of bioluminescence there slowly turns from blue to red as it runs low on material. I can't really use a magazine system because as soon as the epoxy on the nets is exposed to air it starts to harden immediately. The guns should maintain themselves, but if you ever experience trouble with one, just put it back in the production unit and it should sort itself out in a couple of hours."

She was finally looking pleased, now that we were discussing the details. "Well, it seems like very impressive technology. Despite my earlier protests, I do appreciate the equipment, it might end up saving lives. My officers included."

She placed the gun down on the desk. "That seems to about cover it, was there anything else?"

"Yes actually, I wanted to sell the machine to the BBPD for the price of one dollar."

"A dollar? Why?"

"In this situation, it lets me legally set conditions on the sale." The chief's face was hardening rapidly, so I hurried to complete my thought.

"I just wanted to set the condition that the BBPD wouldn't be allowed to sell the net launchers or the production unit itself to anyone else."

Comprehension dawned on her face. "Ah, I see. You don't want us selling them off to the highest bidder. Makes sense, even if the presumption is a little offensive."

I did my best to look contrite. "Sorry about that, I just didn't want to end up starting an arms deal inadvertently."

She stood and shook my hand. "Well Hive, it's been interesting. Feel free to contact us again if you have any more crazy ideas."

I tried not to take offense. "It was nice to meet you chief. I can see myself out."

I was just thinking that everything had gone off pretty much without a hitch when I spotted Armsmaster waiting for me by the front doors. I suppose I had taken a while in there, and people _had_ known that I was going to the police headquarters.

"Hive, would you come with me? The Protectorate wanted to speak with you."


	11. 2-3 PHO Interlude

2.3  
o0O0o0O0o

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You have 4 infractions and 1 warnings. Your probationary status expires on September 7, 2011.

 **Topic: Suddenly Giant Lizard  
In: Boards ► News ► Capes ► America**

 **Bagrat** (Original Poster) (The Guy In The Know) (Veteran Member)  
Posted on February 12, 2011:

So we've got another new cape in Brockton Bay. I don't know what they put in the water over there but they seem to crawl out of the woodwork.

At least this one isn't another member of the E88. They have way too many capes as it is.

Here's what we know so far:

-Calls herself Hive

-Appeared on channel 4 news, introducing herself. links here and here to relavent clips

-Straight up said she's a bio-tinker (are you even allowed to do that? I thought you were contractually obliged to deny it or something.)

-Walking around in some pretty sweet blue and gold power armour, full coverage type. Looks biological (makes sense.)

-Here's the big one: accompanied by a pony sized lizard with the same color scheme as her armour

-Lizard apparantly called a runner. So named because it can run 60+MpH. You can hide, but you can't run apperently.

-Gave no visible commands to pet lizard meaning: a)master power to control lizards, or b)that is a scary smart lizard

-Carrying a donation of tinkertech for the police  
*edit* according to this brief press release, expect Brockton's finest to start sporting net launching tinkertech guns

I think that about covers it. Lots of footage of this one, so I'll try to provide links to everything.

Videos here, here, here, here, and here. And yes, that last one is little Timmy asking to pet the lizard mosnter.

Photo albums here and here

*edit* Someone found a video of the runner in action, see link to Darth Cooter's post

 **(Showing Page 6 of 7)**

 **► Lolitup  
** Replied on February 12, 2011:  
I saw that news brodcast live, it was hilarious.

"And now with the weather, over to you Cathy"

-GIANT LIZARD INTERRUPT-

 **► Insect Inspector  
** Replied on February 12, 2011:  
I still say it belongs to the arthropod phylum.

6 legs, visible spiracles, what is obviously chitin as a carapace.

It's clearly not a lizard

 **► Antigone  
** Replied on February 12, 2011:  
Insect Inspector  
Dude, give it a rest already with the insect crap.

I know it has some insect characteristics, everyone knows it has some insect characteristic. It's still a dammed giant lizard. Unless you think that insects have hinged jaws, claws, and tails.

 **► HOTH3AD** (Temp-banned)  
Replied on February 12, 2011:  
NILBOG!NILBOG!NILBOG!NILBOG!NILBOG!NILBOG!NILBOG!NILBOG!NILBOG!NILBOG!NILBOG!NILBOG!NILBOG!NILBOG!NILBOG!NILBOG!NILBOG!NILBOG!NILBOG!NILBOG!NILBOG!NILBOG!

This user has been banned for this post.  
-Not only is this fearmongering, it's SPAM fearmongering -Tin_Mother

 **► Camera Shy** (Film Fanatic)  
Replied on February 12, 2011:  
Lolitup did you see how when the cameraman noticed hive the camera just sort of started drifting. think he wanted to film the lizrd or he was just stunned?

 **► Out of Nothing** (procrastonator)  
Replied on February 12, 2011:  
I, for one, welcome our new giant lizard/insect overlord

 **► Specific Protagonist** (Cape Groupie)  
Replied on February 12, 2011:  
You think I'd be allowed to ride the runner?

 **► XxVoid CowboyxX  
** Replied on February 12, 2011:  
Clearly the lizard is the cape, and it created the "human". Just distract everyone with that BS about the tinkertech and no one suspects a thing. Why do you think you couldn't see the "humans" face?

 **► Not Banned Yet  
** Replied on February 12, 2011:  
XxVoid CowboyxX  
Dude, that was crazy even for you. Not only do we already know what the tinkertech was (It was net-launchers), the "human" didn't show their face because they are a cape. Like, y'know, **all the rest of capes ever**.

 **► spekulator** (Power Guru)  
Replied on February 12, 2011:  
So what do we think? Tinker 7 (bio-tinker), Master 3 (giant lizards)

Or are we going with what leafy said and it's Tinker 8 ( _smart_ giant lizard bio-tinker) 

**End of Page. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7**

-

 **Topic: BBPD got new gear  
In: Boards ► News ► Announcements ► America**

 **Half-Lyfe** (Original Poster) (Veteran Member)  
Posted on February 12, 2011:

BBPD just had a small press release informing the public that they had been given a donation of tinkertech net launchers. Anyone have more information?

 **(Showing Page 3 of 3)**

 **► the Dude  
** Replied on February 12, 2011:  
Yeah, I was in the drunk tank on Monday (don't look at me like that) and I saw two guys totally wrapped up in nets, looking miserable, complaining about giant lizards.  
So confirmed-ish?

 **► Rspct teh LAW** (BBPD officer)  
Replied on February 12, 2011:  
Hah! That was you? Didn't you get pulled in for trying to urinate into a trafic cone?

But yeah, I've seen the nets in use.

They stick to everything like nobodies buisness and once they dry, there ain't no getting them off unless you know the secret. (And don't ask me what it is, I'd probably get in trouble for blabbing, it'll come out eventually anyway.)

Oh, and they are strong as all get out. Seriously. We had to use shears to separate the group of merchants that got stuck together with a net. Regular knives and such just don't cut it (pun intended.)

I'll be the first in line to try out the new guns, they look like fun and basically no chance of injury, unlike tasers and heaven forbid trying to knock someone out by hitting them in the head (don't try that at home folks, brain injuries and concussions are no fun.)

 **► 34598034  
** Replied on February 12, 2011:  
Is that even legal?

I thought tinker tech was the PRT thing. Like, you'd at least have to get permission right?

 **► Ben Frankfurt  
** Replied on February 12, 2011:  
34598034 I asked my lawyer buddy and he said, and I quote:

"Don't quote me on this, but I think the paperwork just needs to be signed by a law enforcement agency, not the PRT specifically."

So, looks like it's legal.

 **► Sciencicle  
** Replied on February 12, 2011:  
Ben Frankfurt. Do you not even realize the irony of your comment? I legit can't tell if you just have really dry humor or are an idiot.

 **► eeeeeeeeeee  
** Replied on February 12, 2011:  
Ben Frankfurt  
If it's legal, how come police arn't all decked out with tinker gear?

 **► Sherlock  
** Replied on February 12, 2011:  
eeeeeeeeeee Have you seen what the PRT did to police budgets? Tinkertech is expensive man. The only reason this thing worked is because lizard lady donated the stuff.

How many tinkers do you know that would do that? 

**End of Page. 1, 2, 3**


	12. 2-4

2.4  
o0O0o0O0o

"Hive, would you come with me? The Protectorate wanted to speak with you."

He was already walking towards the door, talking as he walked. When it took a second for my brain to catch up he turned back to me and waved me forward. Not one for pleasantries I guess. I figured it would make things simpler if I just followed for now.

"No problem, I was hoping to speak with you soon anyway."

"I'm afraid I'll have to call for pickup in order to take you to the PRT headquarters, my motorcycle wouldn't be able hold both of us in our armours, let alone your creature." He gestured to my runner.

Hmm. I think it would be in my best interests to keep them slightly off balance so long as it wouldn't be obvious that I was trying to trip them up.

"Oh don't worry about that, just drive. I should be able to keep up on foot and my runner will have no trouble with it. I'll just need to eat when we get there, I don't get the energy ex nihilo after all."

He took a double take at my runner then my armour in rapid succession. "That may be the case, but we would be unable to communicate while en route."

"If you don't mind giving me your radio frequency I could just join in your comms channel. I've got an organic radio receiver in my helmet. I might need to communicate with potential allies after all." I tapped myself on the side of the head for emphasis.

"Really? How did you manage the receiving elements?" At least he finally sounded curious instead of abrupt.

"I've got an organometallic mesh throughout my armour for an antenna with acutely electosensitive cells to receive the signal. I've also got a backup organic crystal radio receiver if the electosensitive cells are overloaded despite my protections."

"Hmmm." He sounded pleased that at least I knew what I was doing.

"In that case, we can use the non-emergency police band three to talk while we move." I looked up what the non-emergency police band three actually was with my internet connection to make sure I could actually use it. After a minute or two fiddling with the receiver mentally, I gave a thumbs up. With that, he started up his motorcycle and indicated the turn in to the road.

"I hadn't considered organometallics, but wouldn't you get better reception if you used some fine copper wire? You could insulate it if the copper caused toxicity issues." He was driving slow for now, I think to give me a chance to indicate that I couldn't run as fast as I claimed.

"I suppose, but I have a broader range of organometallic options than occur in nature, and some of them are pretty efficient. The other issue is that using external components instead of grown ones would at a minimum double my production time since I would need to stop the growth in stages to apply the extra components." We were steadily speeding up to the flow of traffic, and drawing quite a few eyes on the way past.

"If your specialty covers novel organic chemistry as well as biology, I can see how you would prefer to focus on grown components. I take it your suit also has other novel senses?"

I grinned under my suit. "Oh yeah, metallic compounds are also pretty useful for building a compass. Most biological senses like temperature and acceleration are child's play, but my real pride and joy is the echolocation."

"Really? I had considered it for my suit, but other than a better field of view than most cameras I didn't really see the advantage."

We were stopped at a red light for the moment, giving me a chance to appreciate the number of stares we were getting, as well as think of a proper response to his statement.

"Ah. I suspect you fell into the trap of thinking of echolocation only in terms of bats and dolphins, which while useful isn't that much better than a good camera. No, the part I'm proud of is the infrasonic echolocation. Think elephants. They are the ones that can detect the movements of a herd through the vibrations and noise produced, with their feet. That particular ability works for miles if it's on uninterrupted ground. It doesn't get much resolution but it penetrates most mundane building construction to a few walls deep and it does impressive things for detecting moving objects."

We accelerated away from the stop light with only the grumble of his bike and the cars around us as he considered it.

"I see. Paired with some software to flag the movement likely associated with humans or vehicles you could effectively see through walls. I may have to consider adding that capability to my suit." We were getting close to the PRT building now, and I wanted to finish my thought.

"Exactly. I'm just sad that air isn't conductive enough for electoreception to work. That would be the ultimate combat sense. Perfect, real time proprioception of anything organic within range. If it's sensitive enough, you could even detect the other persons' muscles firing. It would practically give you combat precognition."

Finally pulling up to the PRT parking garage, Armsmaster dismounted his bike. He was leading me to the front door of the building, but appeared lost in thought.

"Mist." Said Armsmaster.

"Huh?"

"Would mist be conductive enough to allow you to use electoreception? You would have to saturate the area, possibly with a electrolyte doped water, but between the fact that others couldn't see and the fact that echolocation would be unaffected, it could be a powerful combat multiplier." Oh! I hadn't thought of that.

"That could work. It would take very sensitive organelles, or sensors in your case, but electoreception can work on on the scale of nanovolts."

Armsmaster visibly shook himself.

"If you decide to join I would be interested in collaborating. It would be nice to have another Tinker in the Protectorate even if our specialties don't cross over much."

"Sure. But ah, I'd be going in to the wards. I'm not old enough for the Protectorate yet." That got me a strange look.

"In either case I'll see you later Hive. If you would please speak to the receptionist, we have a PRT consultant here to speak with you today. I need to get back to my lab."

I walked through the lobby, conscious of the looks my runner was getting. Although I suppose some of them were directed at me as well, since it's not every day you see someone in organic power armour. As I approached the receptionist, she looked up at me and gave a slightly strained smile when her glance shifted over to my runner.

"Ah, Hive. Thank you for coming. We have a meeting room set up for you, please follow the officer there." She indicated the PRT guard that had made their way over to where we were standing with impressive stealth considering the bulk of his armour and the containment foam sprayer on his back.

"Um. I'm afraid we weren't prepared to have you bring your creature. Do you mind having it wait in the parking garage?" Hmm, if they weren't going to let me bring it in to the meeting, there was no sense in freaking out the people in the lobby.

"Sure, no problem." I had the runner walk out the front doors and in to the parking garage. I figured they would probably want to examine it, so I didn't just have it turn invisible or wander off to go looking for muggers. Not that it was my only runner. My other two were wandering invisibly around the docks, looking for ne're-do-wells.

"Please come with me ma'am." The soldier gestured and brought us over to the elevators.

We rode the elevator in silence, him through long practice, me through lack of anything to say.

When the doors opened, he led me down a short corridor to an unmarked office where he knocked on the door.

"Come in." Came the voice from inside. As we headed inside I saw a tall but unassuming man sitting at a heavy desk with no personal effects on it. Deciding to see if I could cut off most of the usual negotiating tactics right off the bat, I turned to the soldier.

"Do you mind getting me some food, I ran here and I'm quite hungry." He looked at the man at the desk for permission.

"Ah sure, I don't see any reason not to. Johnson, would you mind grabbing something from the cafeteria for our guest here?" Johnson nodded and left.

"Don't worry about the chair, it should be fine with your weight, even in armour." I took the offered seat.

"Now, let me introduce myself. I am Thomas Calvert, PRT liaison. I would like to talk to you about joining the Wards, Armsmaster called ahead when you let him know that we had the wrong paperwork prepared." He paused for a second, as if unsure he should go on. A frown crossed his face.

"I was actually expecting him to do part of the interview process today, but it appears he got some idea that he just couldn't leave for another minute."

I leaned back in the chair. I wasn't going to tell him that it was probably my fault after all, the whole goal was to keep them off balance. "Oh it's no problem. What was it that he was responsible for?"

Calvert still had a frown on his face. "He was going to be doing the power testing interview. Unlike some of the fanciful imaginings online, we don't actually have the budget to have tinker-tech testing equipment in every PRT branch so powers testing is mostly done in an interview with the potential candidate." He sighed.

"Oh well, we can always do it later. I believe you indicated your intention to join the Wards already, correct? If that's the case it's a relatively simple process to start you on a probationary term with us, mostly paperwork and parental consent."

He was interrupted by Johnson returning with a plate of sandwiches which he placed on the table. "That will be all for now, thank you." Stated Calvert. He was starting to look slightly pained.

"Interrupt if you have any questions, but most of the paperwork should be relatively straightforward." He reached behind him and pulled open a filing cabinet withdrawing several stacks of paper.

"I did have one. I was lead to believe online that incoming members had a chance to talk to the director of their branch of the PRT before joining?"

Calvert was starting to look quite pained now, with slightly pinched features. "Ah, yes. I'm sorry but director Piggot is... _unavailable_ to speak to you. I'm sure you understand."

Well it didn't effect me much, I was just wondering about the break from what I understood of the procedure.

"Oh, no problem. I'll start reading over the paperwork now."

I grabbed a sandwich and started reading the piles in front of me. After opening the bottom of my faceplate to eat, I looked over the forms. Most of it was innocuous enough, a non-disclosure agreement about the identities of other Protectorate members and Wards, a page listing the salary and trust funds available to a new Ward, a list of conditions of the probationary period,and a form to take home to my dad. I was most of the way through when I found one that made me glad I was reading everything carefully.

"This form says that I sign over all image rights to my heroic identity to the PRT. I was led to believe that it was only used when a new potential member was _re-branding_ , not simply being accepted. I know that there is a form for working within an existing heroic identity, I've seen it online. I would like that one please."

Thomas winced. "Ah, yes, but you see, your situation is a little bit delicate and-"

I interrupted firmly. I wasn't going to play that game. "If I signed that paper, I would have no right or ability to determine anything about my own costume or the public use of my power, I won't sign on with that agreement."

Calvert was speaking with a strained voice. "Yes, but. Ow, blasted headache. Where was I? Your situation is potentially very sensitive and-"

"Mr. Calvert, I don't think you want to be the one to report to director Piggot that I walked away from joining the heroes because of your insistence on using that specific form." I looked at him with a glare. It was largely lost on him because he had his eyes closed and was rubbing his temples.

"Ah? Yes, yes, I'll grab the other form." He turned again, picking up another form out of the filing cabinet, visibly flinching when the cabinet slammed closed again.

After carefully looking it over, I decided that it was what I was looking for and signed it, before handing the pen back to him to sign his signature as well. It appeared to take him a moment to focus on the form in front of him before he signed his name as well. He bundled up the paperwork that I would need to take home and stapled it together, even wincing at the 'clack' of the stapler now. I was starting to get rather worried about Mr. Calvert.

"Here you are. Ahhhhhh _pleasure_ to meet you. Please have your parents sign those and bring them back on Monday, you can begin then. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to visit the infirmary." With that he abruptly left the room, not even letting me know what to do now that we were done.

I finished the last bite of my sandwich and closed up my armour again.

With my paperwork folded and put in a compartment on my armour, I headed back to the elevator. Fortunately it appeared that I didn't need any particular clearance to head back to the lobby. With a wave to the people waiting there, I walked out the front door and thought about what to do then.

Eventually, I decided to retrieve my runner, which as expected had been peered at and scanned by PRT technicians. Walking in to the parking garage, I cleared my throat to get the attention of the the tech that was deciding whether or not to risk try taking a skin sample. She jumped about a foot in the air.

"Hi, I was finished, and hoping to take my runner back. I trust that won't be a problem."

"Ah, no problem."

She looked between me and my runner before nervously adding "We were just finished here anyway."

Now I just need to get home and get my dad to sign my paperwork. That, and figure out what in the world was wrong with Thomas Calvert, something about the meeting with him was _odd_.


	13. 2-5 Coil Interlude

2.5 Coil Interlude  
o0O0o0O0o

Thomas Calvert took another Tylenol in both timelines. He had been having a background level headache for weeks now, and it was making him irritable. In his safety timeline underground in his repurposed endbringer shelter cum secret base he leaned back in his chair, staring at his computer monitor.

The report on the air quality in his base essentially saying that there was nothing unexpected was unsurprising but mildly annoying. He was running out of ideas for what was causing his headaches in all honesty. The thought that some air borne agent could somehow effect him in both timelines despite what he understood about his power was unlikely but his list of potential causes was getting a little thin.

He had already ruled out mundane medical reasons, his personal doctor had given him a clean bill of health. While that didn't necessarily rule out causes like stress headaches and the like, he had never dealt with those to any great degree before.

He switched to reading reports from his moles placed in the various gangs and the PRT. It looked like Lung was mad that someone had managed to stop a raid on a merchant drug house and Skidmark was mad that someone had knocked over said drug house. Whatever, the rising tensions would only do Calvert favors so he sent off a message to stir the pot slightly and see if he could spark off a bigger conflict between the ABB and the Merchants.

One of the moles he had placed higher in the PRT had reported that Piggot was acting agitated recently, but didn't know the reason. On it's own it wasn't useful information, but it could come in handy if he could manage to work out the reason and increase the tension on her.

It was part of his long term plan to have Piggot sidelined by either her health concerns or her increased paranoia and anger against capes caused her to appear unfit for duty. He already had the contacts within the PRT necessary to start the procedures, he just needed to wait until she provided him with a good enough excuse.

In his _normal_ timeline he was sitting in his office at the PRT going over field reports, looking for anything to turn to his advantage. He couldn't read the sensitive reports from his PRT moles in this office but he could still gain useful information.

He paused when he ran across the report from Armsmaster about the potential new bio-tinker in town. He wouldn't even normally be in the distribution list for receiving that information, but his bending of the rules to get elevated access to the PRT systems had been ongoing for so long now he wouldn't be surprised to find that he had the authority in some official capacity by now if only by default.

Bio-tinker. The word alone was enough to bring back unpleasant memories of running for his life. One of the few things he and Emily Piggot would ever see eye to eye on was the fact that Nilbog would do the world a favor if he accidentally turned Elisburg in to a crater, taking him with it.

Still, this represented an opportunity. He could spin it several ways, but his two preferred ideas were to get the new cape branded with a kill order, or if they managed to maintain their heroic identity, get them shoved in to the Protectorate with enough restrictions to choke a horse, where he could keep an eye on them.

Honestly, the kill order would probably be easier. He knew that Boston already had a pre-approved kill order for their resident bio-tinker, Blastor or Blastoff or something. The man was an irreverent idiot and even he got a kill order for the first time he made anything self-replicating. It wouldn't be that hard to stoke panic a bit among the PRT directors and get the new cape branded with the same iron.

He would need to do some testing with disposable timelines to see about the easiest way to have the new cape dealt with.

A ping from the computer in his office drew his attention. It looked like the newest _hero_ in Brockton Bay was coming in to join the Protectorate in a few minutes. Piggot didn't want anything to do with the new cape, so she told her subordinates to deal with it. It was a simple matter for Calvert to intercept the orders and change a few names around so that he would be the one interviewing the new potential recruit.

It wasn't his preferred situation, and it was short notice, but the opportunity was too great to pass up. He collapsed timelines down into the office at the PRT. Bringing up the security camera feeds, he immediately split the timeline again, and gave different orders in each one.

"Have Hive brought immediately up to my office when she arrives." A nice safe order.

"Have Hive detained immediately upon entering the lobby. I have reason to believe she is working for the Empire 88." He would see if he could get her to resist arrest. Perhaps his first plan could be salvaged before she had a chance to join the heroes.

In the first timeline, she was having a pleasant conversation with the receptionist while in the second, PRT officers were swarming the lobby. He could see her tense and was just thinking his plan was going to work when Armsmaster stuck his halberd in things and yelled a stand down order at the PRT officers. By the time they were discussing orders and Hive walked over to help clear things up, he knew his plan was shot to pieces.

Ah well, it was a bit of a long shot anyway. And his dammed headache was coming back. Now was not the time!

He re-split the timeline when Hive walked in to his office, immediately his headache flaring worse. In the first timeline he greeted her kindly, in the second, he decided to pour on the pressure. Both were interrupted when she asked his soldier for sandwiches. Honestly! How was he supposed to work in these conditions.

He split the timeline again to try to regain control of the situation, but he was having a harder and harder time concentrating through his headache.

Managing to go through the trite speech about joining the wards in both timelines, he was struck with a wave of agony when he tried to give her the wrong paperwork in one instance. It didn't even help, because she immediately spotted that it wasn't one of the normal wards probationary term forms, it was a probationary form for when they were dealing with previously villainous recruits.

Coil tried splitting the timeline again and got a spike of agony in his skull for his efforts. This bitch had to be causing it somehow. In one timeline he was trying to continue with his speech, while in the other he was screaming at her waving a gun in her face, trying to get her to tell him how she was working against his power.

At her lack of fear and puzzled look at his questions, he decided he couldn't take it anymore and shot her in the face. He managed a lucky hit on the part of her face that was uncovered but despite going over backwards and gaining a spot of blood, she appeared to be fine. PRT troopers rushed in to the room to see who had fired the shot and he dropped the timeline in disgust.

 **PAIN**. Splitting time again was almost more than he could bear, but he still tried anyway. She was saying something about the wrong form, and he was trying to pay attention but he could barely think at the moment. The bitch was going on and on about giving her a different piece of paperwork, and he finally gave in just to stop her grating voice.

Thomas managed to tell her to get the paperwork signed before running from the room, heading directly to the infirmary. His headache receded very slightly, and he did his best to calm his mind. He would deal with this crap later.

o0O0o

Once he had spent the afternoon laying down, his headache was finally blessedly back to slightly worse than average. Coil decided that he would need to deal with Hive in a more immediate fashion, their power interactions were simply not acceptable.

Splitting the timelines, he was relieved when he only got a mild flare up from his power. In the first timeline he headed home for a quiet night in. In the second, he looked up the paperwork that Hive had signed. Damn, she had managed to retain almost her full image authority. Oh well, he would be dealing with her soon enough that it shouldn't matter.

It was a simple matter to look up her records from her signed name. Immediately he spotted the hospital records that likely coincided with her trigger event. Digging a little deeper he found a name of her only remaining parent and their home address.

He already knew that a handgun round wouldn't do anything against her and he didn't think that even rifles would do anything to her armour, but now that he knew her address he could have a sniper with armour piercing rounds kill her when she was in civilian attire. It would be easy enough to pin on the merchants, he would simply use one of the seized merchant weapons, then allow it back in to their hands. The idiots were so brain baked on their favorite drugs that they wouldn't even think to deny that they had killed a hero in their civilian identity. They would probably think they were just high when they managed it.

Setting up the ambush was trivial for him, he just ordered his men to observe the household from an unmarked van across the street and then trail the targets until they were in a position to be taken down effectively. Unfortunately the now familiar headache was starting to return with a vengeance.

He was just deciding where to use as an ambush site when his men started screaming obscenities in the comms channel. How had they been detected? He only hired professionals so it wasn't some rookie mistake. Maybe the target just had enhanced senses.

Splitting off a new timeline, he drove to his base again before doing the same prep work. This time he would ensure that his men kept a greater distance to the target. His head was throbbing, but it would be worth it if he could just stop getting these headaches permanently. His men reported that the targets had left to do some shopping, so he elected to set up the ambush for when they left the store. Because he was feeling vindictive, he ordered the father killed as well.

Fifteen minutes later and the lights in his office were starting to stab in to his eyes, but his men reported that the targets were showing themselves.

Listening in with a savage grin despite his pain, Coil let out a happy croon when his men reported two successful kills. Now, he would just keep both of his timelines open just long enough to ensure that the merchants took the fall and he would be home free.

Coil was rather surprised when thirty minutes later, he heard screaming outside his door. In his secret underground base. Which should not have been possible. Out of morbid curiosity more than anything else, he walked in to the main section of his base only to groan and cover his ears at the loud sound of sustained fire from his men.

He never even saw what caused his timeline to abruptly end.

Screaming at the unexpected death, then instantly regretting how it made slivers of agony to shoot in to his brain, Thomas whimpered slightly at his renewed pain. This had to end.

Setting up surveillance on his base, he ordered his men to just storm the Hebert household and kill the bitch with high explosives. He needed to find out what had killed him in the other timeline. His entire skull was throbbing, but his men eventually reported success so he settled down to wait.

Coil was unsurprised when, thirty minutes later the doors to his base started buckling under a renewed assault. The assailant was invisible, but tearing through his men like tissue paper. Even grenades had little effect on it, although with so much smoke and fire in the air, he finally got a decent look at the shape of his attacker. It had six legs, and was shaped like a lizard. At least he finally had an answer. Coil just ended the timeline and rolled over in his bed, groaning in pain.

OK, third times a charm. Was he on his third attempt? He was losing track. Coil had bloodshot eyes at this point, but he managed to set up an ambush with most of the explosives he had on hand, wincing every time he had to talk to his men because of the lances of pain it caused.

He called in sick to the PRT in both timelines, he wasn't going to manage anything productive during his day job at any rate. It was Monday and he had stayed up all night preparing for Hive to come in to the PRT building on Monday afternoon. He even went the extra mile and worked through his pain to request that Hive brought her runner with her when she turned up to make sure he could get both of them in one blast.

It would cost the PRT several troopers and at least one hero their life to be caught in the blast, but Calvert didn't give a fuck, so long as it stopped the damn migraines.

The explosion was massive, but his reports were that it managed to kill everything in the blast radius including Hive and her fucking lizard, so he was home free. Now he just needed to take some more migraine medicine and calm down before figuring out how he was going to manage to disguise the trail of evidence leading from him to the explosion.

He was still waiting for the migraine medicine to kick in when he was killed by another **fucking invisible lizard**! How many of the things did she have, and how did they manage to keep tracking him down?!

Coil just broke down crying on his bathroom floor. His head hurt, he couldn't think, and Hive was still wandering around the city with her own personal "Fuck You" field that was giving him headaches.

OK. He would calm down, wait for the medicine to kick in and try thinking of another plan. Surely his migraine couldn't get worse right? That was a thing surely. Once you got a headache of a certain size it just wasn't allowed to get worse right?

Coil spent most of the rest of the day crying in the bathroom.


	14. 2-6

2.6  
o0O0o0O0o

On my way home to deliver the forms to my dad, I was deep in thought.

Come Monday, I was pretty sure my window for making use of the Grandfathering clause was closing, so my new priority for the weekend is making something _new_.

I could always use more runners, and a second planter would help me expand faster, but if I really want to make the use of that loophole, I need to produce something that I wouldn't mind using in public, that I can finish before I need to sign any paperwork on Monday evening. Since I would like to keep using the light-spectrum camouflage on everything public and that takes longer to grow, I'm limited to what I can grow in about three days. Runners take about four days. That limits me to something pretty small as far as creatures go.

I'm definitely not making use of the _smallest_ template, which are basically little mobile stomachs with mouths, the size of chihuahuas, useful for nothing other than consuming. The smallest dedicated flying templates hold promise though. They would be about 200 pounds and because of the incredible muscle density of my creatures, were capable of flying with more than double their body weight, making them unbelievably maneuverable. They were much more awkward on the ground, only having their wings, tail, arms, and two hook-like legs more designed for latching on to things than running. The design sacrificed almost all of their ground mobility for even more aerial speed and maneuverability.

If I slightly elongated the legs to the point that they could encircle a waist, and changed the talons out for grippers that could latch on to the opposing leg, I would have a flying creature capable of comfortably carrying someone with a sort of seatbelt while still having its arms free. They would even be strong enough to pick me up with my armour, taking me on short flights.

They were kind of ugly though. If I enhanced the dragon-like look a little bit, and let the leathery wings display brilliant colours instead of a fleshy tone, I'm sure that I could get away with fielding them. Hell, people who like dragons would probably even find the cute, and who didn't like dragons?

Arming them with net-launchers was a no-brainer, but I was really starting to miss having something that could stop someone from firing a gun, such as a taser or fast acting sedative. Unfortunately I couldn't make either one safely right now.

While I could produce bio-electricity and toxins more effectively than anything on earth, I didn't yet have a way of moderating them to safe levels, and human experimentation was icky. I think it will be nice to collaborate with Armsmaster. I'm certain that he will know just how to safely apply voltage without serious risk of harming someone. I've looked it up online, but there are contradictory answers and it's something that I certainly don't want to get wrong.

The sedatives were even more perilous. I had a decent mix of sedatives, muscle relaxants, and tranquilizers that would take someone down in seconds. Unfortunately, it would also probably stop their diaphragm, and possibly even their heart. Maybe I could consult with Panacea or something?

Anyway, I set my newly minted swoopers to bake, one in the the garden supply base and two in the already larger boat base. They should be ready some time before school lets out on Monday.

With that set, I decided to try an idea that my discussion about infrasonic echolocation with Armsmaster had given me. Excavating enough area to make a decent base underground would definitely be noticed, but if there were any voids already there underground waiting to be filled up, I could extend a trunk between the nearest abandoned rooftop on the surface and the space below ground. I could even make whatever building was below the abandoned rooftop in to a second base so that anyone who found it or destroyed it wouldn't think to check where all the energy was actually going to. The problem with me doing that previously was that I didn't have any way of finding the voids.

With my ability to detect infrasonic pulses, I just needed to create a tiny seismic tremor at a known time, then combine the fine senses of my runners with more triangulation provided by my nodes and I could do a decent job of ground penetrating radar.

I found a four story apartment building that was scheduled for demolition and climbed to the top with one of my runners. I tackled the rooftop air conditioning unit, shearing it off the base, then carefully dragged it to the edge of the roof on the side facing the back alley. When I was sure no one was in the area, and no one close enough to get a good view was watching, I shoved the unit off the roof while putting my other two runner's heads on the ground to improve their senses. With an ominous whistling sound followed by an almighty crash, the air conditioner crunched in to the ground.

I was fortunate that the instinctual knowledge of echolocation extended into determining what was through solids as well, because sound definitely didn't behave the same way as it did in the air and I didn't think I would get to keep doing this without drawing attention to myself.

Lets see. There were a lot of parking garages, unsurprisingly, and a couple of small air pockets in the rock, but the real find was the huge aquifer beneath the city. It would be my civic duty to make sure it never turned in to a sinkhole. I'll just have to fill the whole thing in.

My planter worked its way over to that area of town in order to look for convenient rooftops. The space below ground was large enough that it would be a weeks long project to fill the entire thing, and provide enough energy from above ground. The upside of course was that it had enough room to grow all but my largest ground based creatures, I would just have to dig a small tunnel to somewhere near Captain's hill, the nearby park area, so that my creatures could exit once they were grown.

My planter wouldn't be working on expanding my network in the meantime, but my range already covered the entire city, and I got diminishing returns from covering the area outside of the city since it was a lot less likely I would need to go there.

I was almost home so I sped up a bit, eager to let my dad know how my very busy day had gone.

Entering through the back door while invisible, I left the suit in the basement then emerged in to the living room where dad was looking over some sort of budget report.

"Hey kiddo, I would ask how your day went since I know you were going to go down to the police station, but I saw you on the news. That was well played." He grinned at me.

"Thanks dad, but you don't know the half of it. The meeting with the police went alright but right as I was exiting the station I ran in to Armsmaster, who wanted to take me over to the PRT building. I ran beside him on his motorcycle and we were talking about tinkering the whole way there, it was pretty fun. He ran off as soon as we got to the PRT building even though he was supposed to stick around. I think it was because he wanted to go test some of the stuff we talked about."

Dad's eyes were getting bigger and bigger as I went on. When I was done talking for the moment he mentioned in a slightly stunned voice "Well, you don't do things by half that's for sure. How did it go with the PRT?"

"Pretty good, but the interview was kind of weird. I think the guy interviewing me had a pretty killer headache, he was wincing at every little sound by the end of our chat." I considered for a moment.

"I signed the preliminary paperwork for agreeing to a probationary period with them. The paperwork was all the normal wards stuff, other than him grabbing the wrong paper for the probationary period itself. Oh, that reminds me." I brandished the paperwork I had been given to take home.

"Here's a copy of what I signed and the parental consent form, although I think you'll need to come in on Monday for when I sign the rest of it. Most of that stuff will be about my tinkering specifically, so it will be more involved than the stuff from today." He took the papers from me and started looking them over carefully.

"Do I need to have a lawyer look this stuff over? It looks pretty complex." He was frowning at one of the lines on the salary documentation. "And they really pay this amount in to your trust fund? No wonder police budgets were slashed so much. It's not huge, but there are a fair number of heroes in the city"

"You can if you want, but it's all standard Wards paperwork and it's already been picked apart online. I wouldn't bother. Now, Monday's paperwork is going to be a lot more important to me, but that mostly just consists of making sure they supply me with the right forms. I've been looking them over since I found out about them, and found a reliable source online for the accurate forms."

"If you're sure kiddo. I just don't want it coming back to bite us later." He was most of the way through the paperwork by now.

"Yeah. The more dangerous restrictions are the ones that come straight from the laws themselves and you never sign paperwork over. The most serious one that could apply to me is the 1997 ruling on the proscription of self-replicating technologies. That's the one that can get you a kill order just for breaking once." Dad looked shocked by my statement.

"Have they ever actually killed anyone over it?" He asked in a strained voice.

"The ruling has only ever been enacted once, the villain Dr. Recursion was sentenced in absentia and executed for creating a self-replicating nanobot weapon. But I know that several villains have pre-approved kill orders if they create self-replicating technologies. The closest one would be Blasto up in Boston, he's the other bio-tinker nearby."

Dad was very pale. "You're not making me feel any better here, Taylor. Are you sure that it can't apply to you?"

I nodded. "Yeah. I just have to ensure that my stuff doesn't even have the ability for reproduction and it shouldn't be an issue. Worst comes to worst, I would just have to prove in court that my stuff can't self-replicate."

Dad was still looking queasy. "But you said the the villain was tried in absentia?"

"Yeah, they only do that if you won't come in to court, or are proven to be a 'real and immediate threat' to the people in the judicial system that would try you. Neither of which applies to me."

"Well, I'll want to have someone professional look over the laws for you anyway, those threats are just too serious to ignore." He had finally got a hold of himself, now that he had something concrete to contribute.

"No problem. We might even be able to get the PRT to pay for an independent cape law expert to go over the relevant laws for us, since it will affect them as well."

"We could, but I would trust someone we hired ourselves more. It would be worth it to pay out of pocket just to ensure that can't happen to you." He was taking this pretty seriously, but I didn't mind. It was a lot better than the time after mom died when he was just acting like a zombie. I'll take overprotective to braindead any day.

"Sure, we can even pay for it out of my equipment advance as a tinker. Since I won't be using much money on equipment, it'll mostly just be a signing bonus for me."

I was pretty pleased about that actually. Just for being classified a tinker, I was going to get a minimum starting budget for tinkering materials as well as an allotted number of designated tinkering hours when they couldn't tell me what to do with my time. A tinker designation was probably the single best influence on how sweet your sign on package was for the Wards or the Protectorate.

As he handed my paperwork back to me, I broached another topic. "Hey dad, we need to decide how to handle Monday. They just said that they want me to come in, and if we want to get everything done on Monday then you'll need to come in as well but how we do that is mostly up to you."

He thought about it for a moment. "I get off of work after you finish with school, so if you want I could just meet you there. We wouldn't need to go in at the same time, so there wouldn't be anything linking us together if you decided to go in costume. Do you need to bring it?"

"Technically no, but if I want to get any of my stuff grandfathered in when I join, I need to bring it in to the paperwork session when we go over all the tinkering rules and limitations. So I'll definitely be bringing it. I'll also make sure to bring one of each of the creatures I'll have ready by then, as well as a net-launcher."

Dad was nodding, until what I said sunk in for him. "Wait, two? I thought you just had those runners?"

I was grinning ear to ear. "Well I _did_. But I realized that with the grandfathering window coming to a close I would have time for one more creature, I decided to make a flying one. You'll get to see my swoopers on Monday."

He joined me in my grinning. "I'm glad you're making the most of your research. So many people would have just rushed in and regretted it later. You've become a very mature young woman."

Despite the fact that it was probably required dad speak for the fact that I was no longer thirteen years old, I still blushed at his comment. I was pretty proud of all I'd done with my power since I got it, and it was nice to have someone else recognize the thought that had gone in to it. Even if it was just my dad.

"Thanks dad. Anyway, I'm going to go get my homework done for the weekend. See you in the morning."

"Yeah, I'll stay up and putter for a while, I still have to figure out where an extra two thousand dollars of union funds went, but I'll see you in the morning."

With that I smiled and headed up to my bedroom, thinking about what it would be like to meet the Wards on Monday.


	15. 2-7

2.7  
o0O0o0O0o

It was Monday, and school was almost over. I guess it was also Valentines day, but that didn't really figure in to my plans at all. I think that the trio were originally going to do something to commemorate the day and make fun of me, but a couple of giggles in their direction from other students seemed to keep them at bay.

It's amazing how little social pressure it actually took to make them behave themselves a bit better. If only I had been this good at social engineering before my trigger, I probably could have avoided the whole situation in the first place. Oh well.

To pass the day, I had been idly looking things up online at the library and monitoring the progress of the seeds my planter had started for the aquifer project on Saturday. According to the internet, it was an example of a limestone rock aquifer, nearly a cave, but still containing a very loose, porous mesh of other rock types that hadn't eroded away yet. I would need to do some excavation, but I could probably use most of the excess material to make my creatures.

I could fairly easily clear away the loose rock and divert the water, leaving myself with a nice cave with free building material, and the city with the water it was used to drawing from.

As school let out, Sofia shouldered past me with a muttered "Watch it loser." Yup, still smelling stressed. And also a hint of anticipation? I guess they were planning something bigger after all. It would be interesting to see what they came up with.

I jogged home despite the wind whipping the snow around, not bothering with the bus. Once I let myself in and grabbed some quick food from the kitchen, I went down in to the basement and got in to my armour. My suit was feeling hungry too, so I even as I fused with the inside of the suit at the connection ports, I resolved to eat more before I left home. Maybe those leftover hamburgers in the fridge? Dad had cooked them up with some ground beef we got from the store yesterday, and they were pretty good. He was even cooking extra these days because he knew how much I ate now.

With the house once again locked I started loping my way invisibly towards the PRT headquarters, also heading that direction with one of each of the creatures I would be disclosing today.

Gliding through the air with the swoopers was a rush. They could accelerate themselves with a crack of displaced air and they could dive at incredible speeds by pulling their wings in and making themselves more aerodynamic. I decided I would have to find a way of racing some of the faster earth birds one day. Having a diving race with a Peregrine falcon would be a blast.

As with the rest of my creatures, they had incredible senses and would make looking for crime a lot easier. All I had to do was glide over the city, keeping an eye and an ear out for any disturbances.

I faded in to view when I was a block away from the PRT building, walking the rest of the way there. A pair of teens that was walking by started walking up to me but I just waved at them. I figured they could talk to me inside where there was actual heat running if they wanted to chat, it would be a lot nicer than shouting over the wind outside.

Walking through the front doors, I greeted the security guards at the entrance with a wave. They merely nodded in return. I noticed something that I hadn't noticed the last time I was here. There was a familiar smell in the air that took me a second to identify. I think it was Sophia, but it was pretty fresh. In all likelihood she was just visiting as a tourist hoping to see the Wards. It would be funny to see her while I was in this costume and have her clueless as to who I was.

While I was waiting in the lobby, I had my swooper land on the back of my runner in an alley then faded both in to visibility. Walking the runner down the PRT headquarters simultaneously attracted as much attention as on Saturday, and less hesitance from the pedestrians. It looked like much of the city now knew what the blue and gold critters meant even if they had never seen a swooper before.

As with my outing on Saturday, I didn't have either creature talk despite the questions that were being asked around them. I could have, but I figured it would be easier to accept talking critters from a known Ward than a hero you had never heard of before.

"Hey, look at that second one. I didn't see it on Saturday, I bet it's new." Pointed one of the teens who were now loitering by the entrance.

"Well I want to be somewhere else if more keep turning up." Fired back her friend.

"Aw, come on don't be like that Alec. You heard the news, they're a _hero_. At least that's better than more Merchants or something."

"I dunno. Merchants or monsters, take your pick." He put actions to words and started to walk off down the sidewalk.

"Hey, Alec wait, I wanted to see the new Ward!" Shouted the girl, chasing after him.

"They just went inside, why don't you go talk to them in there?"

"I'm not going it _there_ to talk to them and you know it." She complained good-naturedly.

"Well, I'm not going to wait outside just for them to be done." He was still walking, forcing his friend to keep up with him.

The rest of their chatter was lost to the wind as the sliding doors closed behind my creatures. I walked up to the front desk and greeted the receptionist. "Hi, I'm here to discuss joining the wards. I would like to meet with the heroes. Oh, and a man will stop by in a little while who says he's with me, could you please direct him up to wherever we are meeting?"

This time I got a much more assured smile from the lady at the desk. "Sure thing, we've prepared one of the conference rooms, so there should be enough room for your creatures as well this time. The officer by the elevators will show you the way."

Walking over to the elevators, I saw that it was Officer Johnson again. We got in the elevator, and I asked the question that was bugging me. "So, Johnson right? What do you actually do here that you get to show people around the base all the time?"

I was slightly surprised when he let out a chuckle despite his stoic pose. "I wouldn't normally be on base duty, but I got a hole in my kidney the last time we ran in to Hookwolf. I'm on light duty for a couple of weeks until I stop peeing blood." Eww, more than I needed to know. My thoughts must have shown in my body language.

"Don't forget about the troopers when you're out and about fighting villains, we don't normally rate parahuman healing if we get injured so we get to deal with the crappy half of combat a lot more than you capes do, the recovery."

I grimaced. I wonder if I could make any equipment that would help the PRT troopers as much as the net-launcher helped the police. While it wouldn't directly impact my outcome, have allies in the rank and file of the PRT would make it a lot harder to turn opinion against me if any of the upper echelons decided that I was problematic.

We were now headed down the hall towards the room marked Conf. Hall 2. "Sure, I'll think on what I could design to make your lives easier." He just made an affirmatory noise in the back of his throat as he showed me the door.

"This is your stop I believe." He gave me an over the top full body salute, then sauntered back to the elevators, stepping around my retinue.

Lightly knocking, I opened the door to see several people sitting around a large table in the middle of the room, discussing something until they spotted me.

Armsmaster I immediately recognized, the other two I couldn't place. Although given her uniform, the rather large woman glaring at my creatures was probably director Piggot. My predicament was solved when Armsmaster started introducing to me.

"Hello Hive. This is Director Piggot of the PRT and Cynthia Myers of the Youth Guard."

Cynthia stood and walked over to shake my hand. "Welcome Hive. I am here as your representative on behalf of the Youth Guard today to ensure that the contract signing is performed as the law dictates. Will your parents be joining us today?"

I shook Cynthia's hand, then took a seat in one of the obviously reinforced office chairs and brought my two creatures up near the table. "Yes, I just have my father, but he will be joining us in a few minutes. He is on his way here."

Armsmaster was nodding, already looking through the paperwork for something specific. Director Piggot cleared her throat, then took over from Cynthia. "Until he and Panacea get here, we can discuss the creatures you have brought with you. Tell us what you know about their capabilities and why you felt the need to bring two of them in today."

She was being a little abrupt, but her questions were fair, so I felt no reason to be antagonistic about answering her. Although I did wonder why Panacea was coming to the meeting. "I call them runners and swoopers. I can tell you whatever you would like to know about either one. I brought them in today to inform the PRT that these creatures and this armour represent my existing body of work as a tinker. I would like to carry them forward into my career as a Ward."

Piggot had a look of distaste on her face since she obviously knew what regulation I was referring to with my specific wording. "Ah, I see. Armsmaster assumed that might be the case, which is why I have invited Panacea here in order to verify the safety of your creatures in your future working environment. As you are probably aware, that is one of the few reasons why a tinker can be required to... _sideline_ one or more of their existing creations when joining the Protectorate."

She actually managed to find a way to potentially force me to forgo the use of my creatures despite the grandfathering. I was legitimately impressed, if a bit annoyed.

The rules she was referring to weren't even in the section referring to the grandfathering. It was in an entirely separate section of the regulations that had to do with the specific conditions under which a Tinker could have their equipment immediately confiscated if it was proven to be unsafe to use. It was totally separate from the normal review procedures so it would still apply to grandfathered equipment. I hadn't spotted it, but I could see how it would be valid. Still, I knew that my creatures were safe, and I'm sure that Panacea would have the same conclusions.

Just as I was thinking of her, there was a knock on the door. It opened to reveal my dad standing next to a short, frizzy haired girl my age in a white healer's outfit, immediately recognizable as Panacea to anyone who was even mildly interested in the cape scene in Brockton Bay.

"Hi dad, hi Panacea!" I chirped. It was cool to meet Panacea, even if it was for official reasons. Maybe I could consult with her about sedatives after the meeting?

Armsmaster started handing paperwork to me and my dad to look over while Panacea walked over to hold a hushed conversation with director Piggot. Most of the paperwork was pretty straightforward and simply asked tinker specific questions like existing assets (I filled in my creatures and my armour here) as well as known specializations and requests for my lab conditions. I was part way through writing down that I wanted a space with powerful banks of lights and several water hookups when Panacea approached me.

"May I look at your creature's biology to ensure it's safety?" She was holding out a hand towards my runner.

"Sure, go ahead."

She stepped forward, placing a hand on my runner's head. Her eyes dilated and she took a deep gasp the instant she touched it. Everyone in the room stared at here, waiting for her to say something but she seemed content to just stare off in to the distance with huge eyes and a slack expression on her face.

Director Piggot had to clear her throat twice before Panacea would look at her, still keeping a hand on my runner and a slightly awed expression on her face. "Well, Panacea? Is the creature _safe_?"

"Hmm? Oh yeah, sure."

Piggot clearly looked taken aback at that answer. She tried again. "Ms. Dallon, are you _absolutely certain_ that this creature is safe? I wouldn't want you making a mistake here."

"Yeah..." We waited several seconds for an elaboration.

"It's fine." Armsmaster looked mildly amused while Piggot just about looked mad enough to punch someone. Cynthia flinched away from her before she managed to get a hold of herself.

"And the other one? _That_ one is _safe as well?_ " Piggot didn't really phrase it as a question.

Panacea seemed to realize that she hadn't even taken a look at the swooper yet, but her eyes returned to the hand that she _still_ held on the runner. Eventually she elected to put her _other_ hand on my swooper, while still maintaining contact with the other creature.

"Wow" She said under her breath.

This time at least we didn't have to wait. "This one is, uh, fine too."

Piggot was breathing heavily through her nose before she visibly took two deep breaths and said in a perfectly flat voice. "Thank you for your time Ms. Dallon, that will be all."

After taking one last long look at both creatures, Panacea turned and spoke. "Thank you for inviting me here to look at these... creatures," She certainly did not say the word creatures in the same voice as director Piggot did.

She then turned to me. "And thank you for bringing them here. We will have to talk later, see you around."

With that, she walked out the door.

There was a slightly stunned silence behind her for several seconds before Cynthia tried to remove some of the tension in the room. "That seems to be in order, are you done with the paperwork yet?"

I looked over the sheets that I had already completed, then spared a glance over at dad's as well. "Yes, I think we're just about done with these."

Finishing the last few papers, I handed them over to her, and she slipped them in to a folder. "Well that satisfies my requirements. I believe my work here is done."

Armsmaster spoke up. "Welcome to the Wards Hive. If you want we can go meet the rest of the Wards while you father and the director go over some of the regulations that you will be facing as a new recruit."

I grinned. "That would be cool. I've been looking forward to meeting the Wards."


	16. 3-1

3.1  
o0O0o0O0o

As we were walking towards the Wards' quarters withing the PRT building, Armsmaster was explaining some of the security precautions surrounding visitors and tour groups.

"-and there will be a brief wait after the alarm, to allow the Wards time to get their costumes on. Some of them usually only bother with a mask but there is enough time for them to get their entire costumes on for those that choose to do so."

Even though my tinker specialty only covered biology and touched on chemistry, I was well read enough to at least participate in a conversation about unrelated technologies. "So it's tied in to the permissions system? Presumably that would mean that after today, the door-locks won't alarm when I'm trying to enter."

Armsmaster was nodding. "Yes, and your permissions are tied directly to your biometric signature within the system so stealing a phone won't allow you to bypass our protections. The low security checkpoints can be bypassed with a cell signal, but all of the choke points are covered by full verification systems."

As we approached the door, he gestured to the scanner mounted securely into the side of the door frame. "Go ahead and place your face within range of the scanner and state your cape name, I have it set to add your signature to the system. We can add your retinal prints later. For those of us with visors or other obscuring costumes, the system relies on a sub-dermal scan of facial veins along with voice pattern match."

I leaned forward until the unit gave a little chirp. I was about to state my name when I thought of a question.

"Should I state my cape name in my normal voice or in the voice I use when I'm in my cape identity? I rely on a slightly different voice pattern to help conceal who I am."

Armsmaster appeared to be fiddling with his visor momentarily. "Prudent. Go ahead and state it once each way, I've changed the system to allow you to use either one."

I leaned forward again and said my name twice, as directed. The scanner gave a ping and I heard a muted alarm from inside the room, presumably the costume alarm for the Wards.

While we waited I decided to bring up one of the topics I wanted to discuss with Armsmaster. "Hey Armsmaster, If your offer of collaboration is still open I would appreciate your assistance in designing a biological taser. I can generate the bio-electricity easily but I need help moderating the voltage to the correct level for safe use on humans. There is contradictory information available online as to what the safe levels are and I obviously can't experiment." I paused, it would be nice if I could help him as well.

Continuing, I added "If you want information about how my sonar system works, I would be happy to provide assistance in designing the software. Or whatever other specialization you think I would be able to assist with."

He thought about it for a moment, before responding. "That should be an easy enough request. I would like information with regards to your sonar, but what I'm really interested in is novel carbon structure you use in your nets. It gave me some ideas for replacing my own tethers and Dragon expressed interest as well."

Oh wow, Dragon wanted my stuff? That was so cool! "Sure, but if you want slightly different characteristics than my nets, just come up with a list of design criteria and I should be able to make you a small bio-construct that just spits out reels of whatever novel carbon compound you want."

I got a satisfied grin in response to that offer. "I'm sure Dragon will be pleased to hear that. I know I will be thinking of design criteria all afternoon now myself."

Before we could continue, the door gave off a second chime and unlocked. Armsmaster gestured for me to enter, so I turned the handle an got my first look at the Wards. Looked like they were all here to 'meet the new guy.' I had evidently interrupted a session of geometry homework because there were textbooks scattered around the common room table, as well as a ruler and a compass.

Gallant, Clockblocker, Aegis, and Kid Win had only bothered with masks, while Vista and Shadow Stalker were in full costume.

Looking down the line, I was amused that only the girls had really dressed up, although I suppose Vista had one of the easier costumes to put on while Shadow Stalker... I sniffed the air. Sophia?!

I broke down into slightly strangled laughs. "So that's why the school bent over backwards for you Sophia! You're a Ward."

Armsmaster whipped his head around to stare at me and Sophia went on the defensive.

"I don't know what you're talking about."

I opened up the face-plate of my armour. "Really Sophia, you don't know me? It's Taylor, you know? The one who you put in a hospital for nearly a week and caused to trigger."

All the capes in the room except for Shadow Stalker flinched at that. Armsmaster interrupted the building argument. "Is this true Sophia? Did you put Taylor in the hospital?"

"Of course not, I had nothing to do with that. But it figures that someone like Taylor would trigger from some stupid prank."

"Sophia. I have a lie detector built in to my helmet. We are going to go directly to the director to discuss your probation. It would be a lot better for you if you cooperate."

Sophia was looking more and more cornered as he went on. " **You Bitch!** " She screamed at me, drawing her hand-held crossbow and firing what looked like a glass vial on the end of an arrow.

It shattered on my armour, emptying its contents uselessly. It was probably meant to knock me out, but good luck getting that to work on me these days. I wasn't just standing idly by though, My runner fired a net at her, catching her crossbow as well.

'Thwip.'

Sophia just laughed. "You think that will work on me?!" She turned in to a mass of shadows, looking rather surprised when she reappeared with the net still stuck to her costume. Everyone except Armsmaster was just kind of standing around stunned, wondering what to do. Armsmaster grabbed his halberd off of his back and flipped it over, electricity starting to play over the base.

With an inarticulate growl, Sophia turned in to shadows again, her costume dropping to the floor along with the net as she moved over to the table and reappeared in her school clothes, a t-shirt and jeans. She grabbed the plastic ruler off of the table and lunged at me. What was she planing to do, stab me with a ruler?

I realized my mistake when she turned insubstantial mid leap. That would probably be able to penetrate my armour. Fortunately my reaction times were still far better than hers, so I had time to lean back and mostly avoid the strike as she turned substantial again, leaving the ruler lodged through my armour in to my ribs. It didn't penetrate to a dangerous depth, but it still hurt quite a lot. I let out a grunt, shooting her with a second net, even as she managed to duck Armsmaster's swing. The only reason she managed to dodge it was that he was trying to avoid hitting me with the weapon.

Sophia tried pulling the same trick with the second net, but it stayed with her this time.

"Sophia, it's bonded to your skin, that's not going to work!" I shouted. She just screamed and tried to tackle me.

She did maintain enough presence of mind to get me in the stomach, but I was both wearing armour and much heavier than I looked, so she just managed to stun herself and flop to the floor. Armsmaster proceed to poke her with the electrified butt of his halberd, making her let out another scream but stop struggling. She might have even passed out.

Silence reigned for several seconds before Clockblocker broke it. "Holy shit, that was awesome."

Vista gasped when she noticed my injury. "Oh no! We have to get that out of you!"

The comment drew everyone's eyes to the ruler sticking incongruously out of my chest, just above my left breast. I flicked the end of it.

'Twang.'

It made the sound that schoolchildren everywhere recognize as a ruler on the edge of a desk. Huh.

'Twang.'

No sense in just leaving it there. I gripped the thing firmly and pulled it out with a slightly sickening sucking sound. I wonder if I can keep the thing as a souvenir?

"Are you OK? Isn't that going to cause a lot of bleeding?" Asked a very worried Vista.

"Oh, don't worry to much about it. I'm a bio-tinker. If I couldn't stop bleeding I wouldn't be worth my weight in biomass." I frowned, considering.

"At least I know now how she was getting away with her crap for so long. Someone in the school administration was covering it all up."

Armsmaster was bending down to further restrain Sophia while he responded to me. "It certainly isn't going to continue. She was already on her last strike before Juvie, and attempted murder isn't going to look any better on her rap sheet. The school is going to have a reckoning coming their way for their inaction leading to your trigger."

"You don't think Piggot will just try to have it covered up?" Given their focus on PR, I could see that happening.

"She can try, but she'd have a mutiny on her hands and she knows it. Trigger events are serious business, as any cape could testify. She knows better than to try to sweep it under the rug if she expects to keep you on board." He had finished slicing through enough of the net that he could bring her hands together behind her back with a pair of heavy cuffs.

"Aegis? I need to go bring Shadow Stalker to one of the cells, could you please bring your new team-mate to the infirmary. I would like to get the wound looked at by someone who can sign off that it is no longer threatening." With that, he picked up Sophia and walked out of the room.

Aegis shuffled his feet before awkwardly gesturing to my injury, which my armour had sealed before any blood could escape. "We had better go get that looked at. Oh, I'm Carlos by the way."

I followed him out of the common area, while he tried to explain a bit about the situation with Sophia. I decided to leave my creatures behind and see if I could freak out the Wards with their ability to speak. "I knew that she was a bit of a bitch, but I'm still surprised she just snapped like that. She was kind of antagonistic towards the Wards, but I thought that she was worse here than at school or we would have heard about it. I guess it was the other way around though."

"Yeah. She was strung pretty tight since I quit reacting to her. She would always try to push it just a little bit further and when I stopped caring she didn't take it well."

He turned around to look at me briefly, but kept walking. "That was after you got your powers? I know I got a confidence boost after I got mine, I basically can't be hurt these days."

"You've got super toughness and the ability to fly right?"

He nodded without turning to look at me this time. "Yeah. Well, sort of. I've got super redundant biology, so if I get blinded I can see through my skin. Stuff like that. It also makes me basically immune to pain."

Oh, I might be able to use that mod in my creatures if it was biological. I would have to see about asking politely for a chance to look at his genome. "Neat. I'm a bio-tinker, so I ended up giving myself something similar in terms of toughness. Are your reaction times and baseline strength better as well?"

As he led me in to the infirmary, Carlos looked a little sheepish. "No nothing like that. The only reason I'm stronger than average is that I don't have to obey the normal limiters that a body uses to prevent self harm."

The doctor sitting at the desk piped up "And you allow yourself to become damaged far too often as a result young man. Now, what seems to be the problem?"

I climbed out of my armour and showed off the wound. I was explaining what had happened, but most of my attention was focused on what was going on back at the Wards common room.

o0O0o

When my human body walked out with Aegis, the others started talking about the fight that had just happened.

"Wow, I've never felt Sophia that mad before. I know I usually try not to share information about what other people are feeling to my empathic sense, but I have a feeling Sophia isn't going to be our team-mate for much longer."

Clockblocker butted in. "Yeah no duh man, Sophia just went crazy and tried to kill our new team-mate, I'd say she was pretty mad. Did you see how Hive just pulled that ruler out of her chest though? That must have hurt."

I decided now would be a good a time as any to introduce my creatures. "Well, it certainly didn't feel good, I'll tell you that much." I said with my swooper, using my normal human voice to do so.

Everyone jumped and whirled on my creatures. Kid Win managed to speak first. "They're sentient? Wait, how would they know what it felt like though?"

"Oh don't worry about it too much Kid Win, I can speak through any of my creatures. They are basically all remote controlled by me." That certainly got some stares.

"So you're walking to the infirmary, and controlling your creatures right now? Can you see through their eyes?" Asked kid win. Gallant narrowed his eyes at my creatures.

"Yes I can. You have a question Gallant?"

He looked slightly startled that I had noticed his staring. It's not like looking through the eyes of my swarm made me stupid. "I was wondering if that was why I was getting such a strange reading off of you from my empathic sense. It's basically like trying to listen to a crowd, there's lots of information there, but almost nothing usable. It's just too much to get anything meaningful out of."

"Interesting. Not too surprising though, I'm currently looking through the senses of three runners and three swoopers, in addition to my normal body. If you are picking all of that up at once, I'm not surprised that you can't make much sense out of it."

"There are more of those! Cool, how fast can you produce them, I was wondering-" Kid Win was cut off by Clockblocker.

"No tinker-talk right now man, we haven't even introduced ourselves properly yet."

Kid Win looked a little mulish, but nodded. I figured I'd start. "Hi, my name is Taylor and I got my powers in January..."


	17. 3-2

3.2  
o0O0o0O0o

I only ended up getting to spend a few minutes with the Wards. They had things to do, and I wanted to get home to talk to dad about how his conversation with director Piggot had gone as soon as possible.

The plan was to let him do the negotiating for what restrictions I would be facing as a Ward. While I knew my tech better and could think faster in a conversation, he had a lot more experience at the negotiating table than I did. Besides, having the excuse of not knowing my exact limitations could be an advantage.

I ended up having time to fix some more food for the both of us before he made it home. Hearing the car pulling in to the driveway, I finished off the apple I was munching on and went to meet him.

He had a happy look on his face, so I took that as a good sign as we both sat at the kitchen table to eat the fruit salad I had prepared.

"I take it things went well?" I was dying of curiosity.

Dad nodded, taking time to finish his bite of salad and take a drink of water. "Yes, overall I think we got enough of what you wanted. She was pretty hung up on not letting you make any more creatures than you already had, but I managed to talk her down to getting any new ones approved and only making a few creatures per month plus replacements if any get killed or damaged. I pointed out that you would get uncomfortable if you weren't allowed to tinker at all since that's a well known characteristic of Tinkers. I'm pretty sure she would have pushed harder, but she was pretty distracted when I mentioned that all of your creations are remote controlled. It got her pretty focused on all the implications of that right quick."

That's better than I had feared, but less than I had hoped. "Any restrictions on that front? I know we discussed it before hand, but that was the one aspect that I had no idea how it would be taken. It's pretty unusual for tinkers to be able to control their tech that directly."

"Not as such. She was pretty disturbed when I mentioned we had never tested taking one of your creatures out of your range, so she wanted to do that tomorrow after school. I know that you discussed going in to the PRT every day after school this week to get your lab set up, you'll just have to take one of your runners with you when you go in tomorrow."

I nodded. "Sure. I wanted to get a chance to get to know the Wards a little better as well. We basically only got to mention our names and powers today."

"Oh, on that front, Piggot mentioned that she would expedite a transfer to Arcadia. She seemed to think she was offering some sort of carrot, but honestly it's just basic human decency at this point." Dad said, waving a forkful of mandarin orange slices for emphasis.

"By next Monday, the paperwork should be through, so I'll leave it up to you whether or not you even want to show up to school the rest of this week. I know you're not getting anything useful out of that place at any rate." That got me to smile.

"Thanks dad. I'll probably at least go tomorrow, just to let some of the teachers know not to expect me back, but I don't really see the point in going the rest of the week."

"Sure thing. Oh, there was one other thing. Piggot wanted the location of the 'lab' you've been using to make your creatures so far, and wanted you to stop using it entirely. Since she's not legally entitled to the information, I managed to convince her to let you keep using it so long as we applied through the PRT for the proper permits to use the abandoned land and let her know the address. Don't be surprised if an unmarked PRT truck shows up to the garden supply store to set up some discrete monitoring gear though." Dad got up and started clearing the dishes for me.

"That's still better than I expected. I appreciate you doing the negotiating for me dad. I'm going to go do some laundry, call me if you need me for anything."

o0O0o

Mrs. Knott was probably the only teacher I'd miss from Winslow, so I figured I would let her know I wasn't going to be back in person. Let the other teachers figure it out for themselves. I waited until class was almost done for the day, then made my way to the front of the room to quietly have a word with her.

"Excuse me, Mrs. Knott?" I got a nod. "I just wanted to let you know that I'm transferring to Arcadia this week, so I won't be around any more."

She gave me a slightly sad look. "I appreciate you telling me Taylor. I'm sorry I couldn't help you more with your situation here, but I'm glad you seem to be moving on."

I gave her a slight smile in response. "Thanks for at least trying, that's more than anybody else in this place did."

The bell rang, causing the class to start packing up. "See you later Mrs. Knott" I waved once, as I left the room. I was debating whether or not it was even worth going to the rest of my classes when I saw Emma in the hall, looking slightly lost without Sophia there.

She saw me as well and angled in my direction, which made my decision for me. I just didn't feel like dealing with her so I turned to walk out of the school. Emma didn't take it well.

"Hey Taylor, where do you think you're going?" She called after me.

I didn't even bother stopping to answer her. "Leaving Emma. I got a transfer to Arcadia, so I never have to deal with you again. Hope you enjoy being the queen of shit castle here."

At first I thought that was it. Then I heard it a tiny voice not meant for anyone to hear "Sophia, then Taylor... Now what am I going to do?"

Seriously? She was worried about that I was leaving now, I suppose finding a new victim was hard work? I answered her question anyway.

"You made it clear enough that I have no say in that when you spat on our friendship Emma. Get some help." She reacted like I had slapped her. Whatever, someone else's problem now. I was busy thinking about how I was going to design my lab.

o0O0o

I figured that making my lab would be easiest if I could grow a seed in my current base, then bring it to the PRT building with the runner when it was time for the test today. In the meantime I went home to suit up and jogged to the PRT building a little early.

The work crews had been busy the night before. Already some of the movable walls had been rearranged to give me a large space next to Kid Win's lab, with some sturdy metal tables to work on and water hook ups built in to the walls for easy access. I stopped by to talk to one of the workmen who was working on installing the powerful, retractable banks of lights to give my lab energy to grow things with.

"Hi, I'm Hive. I don't know if you're the right person to ask, but do you mind if we have dirt brought in here, and some sides added to some of the tables to contain it? I'm thinking something like a garden bed, six inches deep."

He looked up from where he was attaching some of the heavy duty power cable to the top of one of the light frames. "Hello Hive, I'm Amir. The tables are modular, so snapping some sides on should be easy. I just have to put in a work order for it. I dunno who would be in charge of the soil though, I'll ask my supervisor." Amir walked over to a work cart and started poking at a tablet while I waited.

"That should do it, we should have it all done by tomorrow."

"Is there anything I can do to help? If possible I would like to have at least part of the lab ready for use in a few hours."

"Hmm. The big hold up is getting these light frames mounted. They'll be taking up your work space until that's done, but they're too heavy to hold in place. We need to wait wait for one of the other crews to finish with the hoist." He looked speculatively at my armour.

"Unless you're strong enough to hold them in place yourself? I have the mounting brackets with me."

I nodded, glad to be helping. "Yeah, shouldn't be a problem. You just need them held here, right below the mounting arm right?" I gestured to the heavy arms secured to the tracks in the ceiling that could move the lights around and hold them in place.

"Yes, that's right. Just line up the holes while I mount them, we can stuff the power cords in the conduit later."

With that, I grabbed the first heavy metal frame by the convenient handles on the sides, being careful to avoid to delicate heat sinks on the top. Holding it in place was trivial while in my armour, although I probably could have managed on my own. Amir secured the mounting bracket and tightened the bolts holding it in place. He seemed pleased that it had gone so smoothly.

In short order, we had mounted all six lights around the room. Five minutes before we finished the side panels for the tables arrived, so we also mounted those in comfortable silence. I just turned the nuts on with my hands.

When we had finished those as well, Amir looked around the room in surprise. "That went a lot quicker than I expected. Thank you for the help." He walked over to tap in the completed work order in to his tablet.

"It looks like the soil will show up in about half an hour, they just went out and bought bags of the stuff at the garden supply store. Just let us know if you need more." He scratched his head for a minute.

"Did you have any other requests for the lab while I'm here?"

I thought about it for a minute. "Do you handle materials for my stuff as well, or just the room itself?"

He shook his head. "Nah, materials acquisition is a different department. I can give you their extension though, so you can call them on the internal phone system if you have to talk to them. I think they're 215 if I remember correctly."

"Thank you Amir, I think that's it for my lab then."

He gave me a cheery wave then started pushing his work cart to the hallway. "Oh no trouble, you did half the work."

When he was gone, I located the phone in the Wards room and dialed the internal extension for materials acquisition before explaining how I wanted materials brought in to my lab to be fed in to the hopper I was going to grow. I wanted them to keep it topped up at least once per day, but I didn't really have any requirements for what the material _was_ , so long as it was dense enough and had a variety of elements in it.

Kid Win came in and caught the tail end of my conversation, so I figured it was time to grab the seed from my base with my runner and head to the PRT building to do the range testing.

"Hi Chris."

"Hi Taylor. You can really work with any material? What about rock or metal?" He seemed impressed but slightly confused by the part of my conversation he had heard.

"Yes. Some things might take me a little bit longer to digest, and more energy dense material can help the process go quicker, but I get most of my energy from light absorption, so it doesn't matter that much."

"Huh. What do you do with the elements that you don't use, like I can't imagine you would use all the aluminum if you fed bauxite in there."

I was nodding. "You're right of course, I usually just extrude the slag that I don't use, but if I want to I can separate it into the various elements. It just takes a little more time, but I don't really have a use for bars of pure aluminum or whatever else. I suppose it might be worth reclaiming the gold if I ever fed electronics in there though."

He looked slightly down. "I wish I could do something with that much utility, I just have my laser guns and my hoverboard, since I can't work out my specialty."

"Maybe I can help. What are you working on right now?" Let's see if Chris and I can collaborate as well as I can with Armsmaster.

"I'm making a gun I call the alternator cannon. It was originally going to be an auto-tracking turret that could fire a variety of energy types, but with my dyscalculia I can't manage the software necessary to do the target tracking. Now I'm just hoping to make a big mounted gun. It could help against an endbringer though!" He sounded pretty desperate to make something useful. Now, how could I help.

"Do you think you could make an interface for a biological neural net?" I got a hesitant nod.

"Because if you can make a module that I can grow something on, say six inches to a side, I could handle the target tracking easily enough. All of my creatures do it instinctually after all. If you can install that on your gun, you could keep the auto-tracking aspect."

"Really?! That would be awesome! I bet I could build something like that, I'm already coming up with ideas for it." He wandered off towards his lab. I was preparing to follow when the costume alarm sounded for the room.

"I'll just be in my lab, feel free to hit the button by the door to let them know they can come in." Shouted Chris.

I walked over to the door, and after verifying that Chris had his lab door closed, I hit the button set in to the door frame.

A PRT officer came in, then turned to me. "Hive, we have prepared a prisoner transport van for your range test today. Is your creature ready?"

It was nearly to the building by now, so I let him know.

"By the time we get to the garage, it should be there waiting."

"OK, we'll head there right away then. Do you have any predictions for how it will behave when it leaves your range, or any recommendations?"

He got the door to the garage for me, and I followed him out. My runner was indeed waiting for us. "Yes, I crafted the instincts to try to hide from humans and return to my range if it can do so unnoticed. So expect it to turn invisible as soon as you cross the boundary, then to try to run back to the city if you don't have it secured well enough."

I handed my lab seed off from my runner to my human body, then placed it in one of my armour's pockets.

"We're using the prisoner transport van made for brutes, so we should be able to contain it either way." He nodded to an armoured van.

Climbing my runner in the back, they shut the internal barred doors, then two troopers climbed in to observe, then they pulled the heavy rear doors of the van itself closed.

"Well, let's get this show on the road."


	18. 3-3

3.3  
o0O0o

As the PRT troopers were preparing to drive my runner out of range, I was focusing on finishing my lab set up. There were bags of potting soil piled on top of one of the tables in my new space, so I started ripping them open and dumping the rich dirt in to one of my new planter boxes.

There was only enough to fill one of the tables for now, but that should be plenty to get started. I stuck the seed in to the dirt and gave it a little mental nudge to sprout. This one had photosynthetic cells several layers deep to deal with the much brighter lights in my lab. I dragged one of the lights over on the tracks and pointed it at the now sprouted 'plant'. I would worry about covering the heat sink fins on the lights with thermotrophic cells later, for now I just needed growth, not efficiency.

It was a lot like watching the time-lapse of plant growth. With the intense lights shining on it, my seed started rapidly drawing in mass from the CO2 in the air to build its structures. The first thing I grew was a very rudimentary hopper, leading to a tiny digestion pool. No sense having a trashcan in this room, so I just fed all of the plastic bags the soil had come in into the new hopper.

With things growing satisfactorily, I walked over to the control panel for the room and flicked on the quiet but powerful ventilation fans. That should keep the air in here at a reasonable mix for if anyone walked in. My plants could use up a lot of the oxygen and carbon dioxide in a room if it were sealed, and it wouldn't do to have someone pass out in my lab.

Oh, the PRT troopers were on the move. I made sure I was tuned in to the right radio channel. I could hear the trooper just fine through the runner in the vehicle with them, but that wouldn't be true for the whole test.

"This is PRT Transport one, ready for range test. Do you read me?"

"This is console. Read you loud and clear. Hive? Do you copy?"

I suppose it was my turn. I wasn't experienced with radio protocol, but I could at least copy what they did. "This is Hive, I copy."

"Confirmed. On our way. Hive, let us know when we are approaching the edge of your range so we can pull over to observe the runner's behavior."

"Copy." Is that what I was supposed to say? They didn't complain about it, so I guess that I did it about right.

I watched the troopers from inside the van as well. The looked relaxed, but alert. They sat on uncomfortable looking sling seats folded down from the walls of the vehicle.

The van trundled down the road, towards the highway. I busied myself in my lab to keep from focusing on the fact that one of my runners was going to be leaving my range for the first time. I knew it wouldn't be scared, no sense in programming instincts to behave irrationally under pressure. It didn't really have a sense of self in the same way humans did, so I knew it wouldn't resent the test or anything. My worry wasn't really rational though.

As the van started to head out of the city, the runner's connection was being supported on newer nodes with less overlap. I could feel the slow weakening of the connection we shared.

"Hive to Transport, you are starting to near the edge of my range. Expect to reach the edge within the next minute or so."

"Transport copies. We're watching for reactions."

As the last bit of connection frayed, I wished my runner luck and the mental fortitude to deal with the situation.

o0O0o

[runner self] was suddenly disconnected from [network]. [self] was expecting this, so [runner self] knew that it was following its [purpose] even though being alone was unnatural.

[humans] were nearby, and watching, so [runner self] engaged [optical camouflage].

"This is Transport. The runner just went invisible, as expected. Pulling over now."

[runner self] needed to know what the [humans] were planning, so it scanned the frequencies to find their channel.

"-ed. Observe for now. If there are no further changes within ten minutes, then turn around at the next exit and head back.

The vehicle slowed down, then pulled to a stop with a shudder.

The [humans] knew that [runner self] was invisible, and knew about its presence. This went against [runner self] instincts, so it started to plan how to escape. It could bend the bars and break the door, but that might injure the [humans] and that was even more against its instincts. The side of the vehicle would work though.

[runner self] extended its claws and started cutting a hole in the side of the vehicle.

"This is Transport. The runner is trying to cut a hole in the side of the vehicle to escape!"

"Throw a containment grenade in the prisoner compartment then! Don't let it out."

[runner self] recognized the words they were using from [self's] study of [human] technologies. Grenades were slow projectiles. [runner self] continued cutting with its left hand while aiming its [net-launcher] at the [humans]. When one of them tried throwing the projectile at [runner self], it launched the net, sticking the projectile to the bars separating them.

"Fuck. It stuck the grena-"

'Crack-fwooph.'

"Control, we've been foamed, it stuck the grenade to the bars with a net."

"Which side of the van is it cutting through?" A different voice this time.

"Wha-? Um. The right side."

[runner self] finished its hole and punched the panel free, then dove through the hole.

[runner self] was inside a white room? But the vehicle wasn't inside a building?

Looking around, [runner self] saw that it was inside a white room with an armoured security camera in the corner and an observation window with 3 [humans] behind it, talking. There was no sign of the vehicle it had been in other than the circle of metal from the side that [runner self] had cut out.

[runner self] couldn't feel [beacon] anywhere. But [beacon] was worldwide! Think later. One of the [humans] was tracking [runner self] with his eyes, beneath a glowing hood, while the camera in the corner of the room was following its movements, meaning [runner self] was being observed!

[runner self] moved beneath the camera, where it could not be seen by the window or the camera.

Find [beacon] later, for now: escape. [runner self] was glad that [self] valued intelligence. If [runner base template] had been in this room, it would be uselessly shooting at the window, and charging the walls. [contempt]

First, test making holes. [runner self] used its claws against the wall. Claws skittered of, leaving barely a scrape. Same result from the floor. Door looked to be the same material. Ceiling?

[runner self] jumped on top of the armoured camera mount. Test again, claws dug out some material. Perhaps as a last resort. Any other options? The light fixture.

[runner self] wedged itself between the camera mount, the corner of the room, and the light panel in the ceiling, covered by armoured glass. Pushing hard with its rear legs on the camera mount, something in the light panel's mounting sheared, popping loose.

One more big push and the light panel got shoved in to the suspended ceiling, leaving a hole large enough for [runner self] to leap through.

The ceiling had plenty of room for [runner self] to maneuver, so it started making its way away from the cell where it had appeared. Now was the time for thinking.

[beacon] had worldwide range, but [runner self] couldn't feel [beacon], even faintly. So the [humans] that took it either had long range teleportation to another planet with a base, or access to other [Earths]. Identical gravity and air mixture tended towards the idea of other [Earths]. But how to get back to [network]?

[beacon]! Was suddenly there, in that direction. [runner self] started making it way only for the signal to disappear. Short lived portals then.

[runner self] now had critical [knowledge] for [self]. A hostile group with portals to other [Earths] existed in opposition to [self]. How to maximize chances of making it back to [network]?

[humans] that took it were aware that it had [optical camouflage] and were tracking it by thermal or some other near visual spectrum. [runner self] could modify its [optical camouflage] into [true camouflage], although it would use of most of [runner self's] energy reserves and take at least 3 days.

So, hunt for food to replenish [energy reserves], while marking locations that were used for portals and modifying [runner self] to remain undetected while traveling through a portal after some [humans].

[runner self] had a plan. Now, where would food be in a place like this?

o0O0o

"Confirmed console. We've applied the counteragent for the containment foam, no sign of the runner, or the side of the van for that matter."

I decided to contribute what I could. "The runner hasn't reentered my range yet, despite being so close. That means it's either dead or being contained somehow. With the missing chunk of van, I suspect that it was abducted by some third party."

I was _mad_ that someone had taken one of my runners. My entire network was agitated over it. The beacon in the bay was turned on at full strength so my runner had the best possible chance at finding its way back, now it's just wait and see. Oh, look a swooper had just spotted a mugger to take some anger out on. I'd call it in to the police later.

"This is Transport. We'll take readings of the scene, then head back to base, over."

"Console confirms, Hive, the director wants to speak to you."

I had better head up right away, this situation was pretty bad. "I confirm, over."

As I was riding the elevator, I was thinking what I was going to say to the director. None of the situation was really my fault, but I suspected that the director wasn't going to see it that way.

Opening the door to her office, I saw that she was reading over something on her computer. She finished reading it before turning to me.

"Well, Hive. I was originally going to speak to you today about the progress we've made in digging out the rot that allowed your situation to occur in Winslow, but it looks like we have more pressing issues."

She steepled her fingers.

"This is a serious issue Hive, we now have one of your creations running free doing who knows what, presenting a public safety issue."

I pointedly didn't mention the fact that the test methodology was her decision in the first place.

"I need you to tell me what your creature is doing out there, Hive." She gave me a serious look.

"Well, since I'm not in contact with it right now, I can't tell you exactly. But I can tell you what I told the trooper before the test, expect it to try to remain hidden and return to my range. Since it has not done so, it is either dead or captive at the moment and likely working to free itself if it is captive."

Piggot thought about it for a moment, before continuing. Clearly working to maintain her calm. "So we now have a creature that is trying to escape from who knows what, and it might injure people on its way back?"

Needed to head this line of reasoning off.

"No director. My creatures will always prioritize a human's safety, that is likely why it tried to go through the side of the van. To avoid hurting the troopers."

"Better than nothing, but clearly not good enough. My superiors are going to be unhappy enough about this already. Uncontrolled tinker created creatures wandering around are not acceptable. Moving forward I am going to require you to place a small explosive charge near the brain of your creatures while you are growing them. If they leave your range, we will detonate it to prevent any danger to the public."

What!

"Director! I just told you, they won't hurt a human! There should be no danger."

She was just shaking her head. "No Hive, I'm not going to budge on this. They also shouldn't leave your control range right? So it shouldn't be a problem. From now on you are not going to make any thinking creation that doesn't have a backup plan for dealing with it should it become necessary. I will get Armsmaster to supply you with the charges, you are to bring in your existing creatures to include them in the new fail-safe program."

I wanted to argue more, but she did technically have the authority to order me to do so. I was starting to regret joining the Wards, but I still didn't think that they would realistically allow me to be a free agent. Declaring my father to be unfit, followed by declaring me a ward of the state was the least of what I could picture them doing to keep control of a bio-tinker of my capabilities.

"Yes director."

Piggot gave me a sharp nod. "Now, on to the original purpose of our talk today. We have discovered how high up the chain the reports about Shadow Stalker were being suppressed. Fortunately it seems it was simple collusion between the principal and Sophia's handler at the school, hoping to maintain the increased funding we were providing. We will be putting in recommendations that the handler structure be changed to prevent a similar occurrence from happening again."

Ah, I see. I was getting the carrot now, to ease the memory of the stick.

The director shuffled around the paperwork on her desk, before pulling out the one she was looking for and started reading from it.

"You will be pleased to know that with Armsmaster's video of Shadow Stalker attacking you, and the electronic correspondence between the PRT handler and principal Blackwell, the prosecuting attorney has confidence that all three will be successfully tried for their various crimes. Did you have any other questions?"

Piggot placed down her papers and gave me a penetrating stare.

"Yes, what about the teachers that knew what was going on, and ignored it. As well as as the other two girls that participated?"

She gave a slightly careless shrug.

"That is partially up to you. Other than in school punishments and the like, you are welcome to bring a lawsuit against the offending parties yourself and the PRT will supply lawyers through a suitably anonymized intermediary. The only other punishment for the administration itself is that the school board will be paying you damages for your problems there."

Better than nothing. And better than I was expecting honestly. I just nodded.

"I'll think about it. If that was everything?" A nod. "I'll be in my lab then."

With that, I walked out the room and closed the door carefully behind me. I had a lot to think about.


	19. 3-4 Alexandria Interlude

3.4 Alexandria Interlude  
o0O0o0O0o

Alexandria was sitting in her office as Rebecca Costa-brown, reading reports on villain movements throughout the greater L.A. area when Contessa stepped through a portal to speak with her.

Contessa was showing a rare emotion on her face. She was frowning. "The Path is developing holes." She said without preamble.

Alexandria was immediately alert. The Path was one of their greatest tools, if it was starting to fail, like David's powers were... "Is it something that Scion is doing? The Endbringers?"

"No changes to their patterns that we've been able to detect. What worries me is that the failures are starting to give me headaches."

Rebecca frowned minutely. "Headaches? But that's never happened when you couldn't access a Path before, correct?" She didn't know which answer would be more reassuring.

Contessa shook her head. "No, this is a first. It's also very localized. So far as I've been able to narrow it down, the closer the plan comes to Brockton Bay, the sooner it starts to break down, especially if it has steps that take place there over the course of weeks."

Looking up the most recent information on Brockton Bay on her computer, Rebecca couldn't see anything amiss. "Perhaps it is a new trigger with some unfathomably powerful anti-Thinker ability. It is unlikely to effect Scion, but if it can effect even the Path to that extent, we should investigate."

Contessa winced, clearly trying to come up with a Path to find the source of the anti-Thinker effect.

"Perhaps I should rephrase, I should investigate. I will put some feelers out and let you know what I find."

"I'll let you get to it." Contessa nodded and left, without another word.

o0O0o

Rebecca was checking email when she spotted one that interested her. It had been forwarded to her for review from some of the other members of Cauldron. It looked like Coil was looking to discharge the favour that he owed in exchange for information about a very powerful anti-Thinker in Brockton Bay. When she sent an anonymous message that they would accept the deal, it only took seconds to get a response, he must have been waiting at his computer.

His report was interesting. A bio-tinker? Curious. It looked like all of the creations were covered by the effect to some extent, but it was hypothesized to be centered on the controller, one Taylor Hebert. They would have to see about isolating one of the creatures from the network to extensively test the extent of the effect and see if they could find out which agent was responsible for it. If they could get enough information about the effect, they could see about trying to emulate that aspect of it themselves.

For now, Rebecca resolved to look for a good opportunity to capture and isolate one of the creatures. Since Hebert was going to be working for the Protectorate she could just manufacture some excuse about testing the safety of a creature that could only be done in some other location, if necessary.

o0O0o

Looking at the plans forwarded by Piggot, Rebecca smiled. This would be a perfect opportunity to isolate one of the creatures from Ms. Hebert's control. She made a few obvious additions to the plan, then thought for a moment how to best subtly sabotage the odds of successfully containing the creature. It would be best if she could foster the idea that the creature had simply ran off on its own.

Let's see here, how to best encourage the idea that it was a legitimate containment breach? "Please have the chase car watching the road for interference from an outside party, to ensure that no interference in the testing is allowed to bias the results." There, that sounded impartial enough, and would ensure that the observers were looking in the wrong direction, metaphorically at least. They might need to have Contessa run a 'Path to not being observed' while running the little sham show.

That should take care of the observers outside the vehicle. Now what to do about the troopers stationed inside? She could claim a safety concern? No, Piggot would just want cameras mounted in there, which could be even more bothersome to deal with. Perhaps if they were loaded with containment foam grenades? That, plus the 'Path to not being observed' should ensure that they manage to foam themselves with a lucky bounce or something without relying on bullet ricochets. The less mess to clean up the better. Now how to phrase it... "Heavy weapons within the confines of the vehicle would be unnecessarily dangerous, while light weapons wouldn't have sufficient effect. Troopers are to be loaded with containment foam grenades and backpack launchers, space permitting."

Rebecca continued reading, making slight alterations as she went. Hmm. It looked like Piggot wanted the Van to keep driving, then turn around at the first opportunity. A moving target would be a lot more difficult to grab successfully. Better put in a suggestion that they pull over and wait a few minutes to 'ensure that the effects of being outside of the control range are not additive.'

o0O0o

Contessa spoke in to the radio. "Which side of the van is it cutting through?"

Upon receiving an answer, she waited for a seemingly random interval before stating "Door to the right side of the van." Evidently, she had to ask at a specific time or the portal would be observed by one of the chase vehicle crew.

Rebecca was watching the thermal camera feed for the room as the creature leaped through the portal, before turning to take in the room it found itself in. They had already closed the portal before it had a chance to turn around.

Contessa stared at the empty room for a moment. "It's interesting. I get no headaches from trying to plan around it now, and my Paths involving that room aren't developing holes, it simply acts as though there is no creature in the room. Clearly the effect is intrinsic in all of Hive's creations, but amplified by being within her area of control."

She nodded at Rebecca and David, who was staring intently at the creature with glowing eyes. "I have learned what I need. Since it appears the Path will not assist in learning how to duplicate the effects, or isolate the agent responsible, I will leave you two to it."

With that, she left the observation area.

Eidolon spoke. "Fascinating creature, to cause such an effect. See how it follows my eyes, then tracks it's gaze to the camera as well? Look, it's decided to hide in the corner of the room, so we can't observe it. Surprisingly clever for what amounts to a remote controlled drone."

Alexandria interrupted his musings. "How does your power respond? I know you've gained some way of seeing it, but what other powers are surfacing?"

He paused to focus on his power for a moment. "I've gained mundane thermal vision, just like the cameras, for observing it, so the fact that the vision is power granted doesn't seem to effect it. Other than that my power seems to be focusing on combat related abilities, cycling through damage types, looking for something that will work on an unknown enemy."

Rebecca let him finish his thought before changing the subject. "How would you like to go about isolating information on the agent? I know your power won't generally give you information directly about the agents themselves, but perhaps if we examine the technology produced by Hive and figure out which pieces produce the effect, we can start to determine the common trends. We already know from the example of netting that I got that not all of her tech has the effects. Perhaps it is only the creations with a brain?"

David was nodding. "Yes, I can see that being the case. Perhaps we should dissect this one? See what's unique about it's brain structure that allows it the anti-Thinker abilities."

Alexandria's careful tendency towards observation and eidedic memory noticed a subtle change in the room they were observing.

"David, the light level in the room just slightly changed, I think It smashed one of the lights in the corner of the room. Check it out would you?"

Eidolon just nodded, gaining a sight based teleportation power and appearing on the other side of the room. "It's not in here, it smashed through one of the light fixtures in to the ceiling."

He thought for a moment. "I'll see if I can get that far-seeing projection ability again, look for it with my thermal vision." After frowning for a few seconds he opened his eyes and looked into the distance, glowing shapes flowing in front of his face. This went on for several minutes.

After the first two false starts because of someone else in the building, Alexandria just ordered everyone except herself and David out of the base.

Rebecca scowled at how long it was taking. "This is more bother than it's worth, can't you just go up there and get it?"

David just nodded. "Sure, I'll look for a power that can restrain it." He concentrated for a minute.

Finally he looked up at Rebecca again.

"I just got a power that can lock any moving item within a large area inside one point seven meter spheres of freedom, we could just do a systematic search?" He looked to Alexandria.

She shook her head. "No, it would take to long. Just focus on sensory powers until you get one that can track it. Since heat vision works, we know that anything with a purely physical information gathering mechanism will likely work as well."

Eidolon nodded and started rattling off powers as they came up. "Postcognition, nothing. Danger sense, nothing. Life awareness, a lot of germs, but no lizard. Motion precognition, nothing."

Eidolon paused. "That's a new one. I've currently got macroscopic pattern analysis of air currents over a large area. It's not giving me a location, but I can tell that the runner started moving in the direction of the portal the last two times a door was opened to Earth Bet."

Alexandria was getting frustrated. "This isn't worth our time. We already have enough data for now, and we can always just grab another one if we feel the need. Door to one mile above the middle of the Indian ocean on Earth Bet."

A portal opened.

At David's look, Rebecca just huffed. "The stupid thing will probably just dive through. If it doesn't die of a terminal velocity impact with the water, it will drown. Either way, it's out of our hair and we can go back to doing productive things."

They waited a minute before Eidolon called out. "It's definitely gone, no more air movement anywhere in the building from anything other than us now."

"Finally, now we can stop worrying about it. I need to get back to L.A."

o0O0o

Alexandria was back in her office in L.A. Once again in her guise as Chief Director Costa-brown. And once again she was doing paperwork. She was interrupted by a call from director Piggot.

"Director Piggot, to what do I owe the pleasure."

Piggot was clearly agitated. "Chief Director, Hive's creature broke out of containment. I followed the testing protocol you sent me, but the crew inside the vehicle were incapacitated and the car following them didn't see anything. Not that there would be anything to see. It just shows that Hive's fanciful ideas of kidnapping are bunk. None of the vehicles on the road even approached them, I had the follow car watching for interference the whole time. Now we've got an invisible lizard on the loose."

Rebecca though how to best turn this to her advantage. Making Piggot seem more paranoid so their experiment with Coil would remain uninterrupted, as well as keeping a tighter leash on Hive's creatures would be ideal.

"I've read the report Emily. Wasn't there something to do with a missing chunk of van?" Let's see how much cover-up was necessary here...

"Yes, and I have no idea why the damn thing would take it with when it escaped, but there was no one else in the area."

None at all evidently.

"What are you planning to do about it?"

Emily grumbled. "I want to have those damned creatures with bullets in their skulls, but I know I'd be out on my ear."

She could work with this. "Bullets you say? How about a small explosive as insurance against another one escaping. I might pass such an order that crossed my desk you know..." Take the hint Emily.

"Chief Director, would you authorize me to install safeties in Hive's creatures?"

"I won't deny such an action, certainly, but you must understand Emily, this will be on your head if the PR comes back to bite you."

A pause. "I understand. It's worth it to keep the public safe from those things. Is there really nothing else we can do?"

Hmm. That was a good question actually. It might be advantageous if they could keep hive contained in the Birdcage to avoid further affecting their plans, while keeping the resource available. May as well let Emily do some of the legwork for them. And take the fall if it goes wrong for that matter.

"Tell you what Emily, I've got some favours I can pull in from some reasonable judges. I'll let them know you're coming and perhaps you can find a sympathetic ear that's willing to hold a closed court hearing to give some preliminary rulings as to Hive's status."

Relief was evident in Emily's voice. "I'd appreciate it Rebecca, I'm at my wit's end here. I'll let you get back to work."

With her call from Piggot over, Rebecca mentally ran through the numbers of the judges that might be 'persuaded' to help give a quiet ruling or two against Hive. She crossed two off the list for their issues with _indiscretion_ , but she still had six names to call.

Picking up the phone and dialing by memory, she called the first one. "Hi. Justice Michaels? I had a slight favour to ask, sorry to bother you at this time in the evening. Yes. Yes. No, this is about a potentially sensitive case. I'm going to be sending Director Piggot your way to explain the details, but the short story is that we've got a dangerous Tinker that we would like some preliminary rulings on. Yes. I'm aware. Thank you for your time."

Setting the phone down. Rebecca was thinking. 'That whole plan went better than I could reasonably have expected. If only they could all go like this.'


	20. 3-5

3.5  
o0O0o0O0o

Stick some bombs in _my_ creatures will they. I was glad I never disclosed my full capabilities to the PRT, and I certainly wasn't going to now. They were now just useful as social cover for me, and I had held such hope for them. Oh well. Not that I would mind making friends with the Wards, they seemed alright. It's the PRT that sucks.

What should I do about the bombs though? I'm definitely putting them in, no sense in antagonizing the PRT for no reason, but I also know I'm not going to let the bombs actually work. Something along the lines of a toggle-able cover would do it. If they require a test, I just leave the brain exposed enough for the blast to kill, but when I feel the need, the bomb will be sitting in an armoured cup that directs the blast outwards. Unless it's a shaped charge, it wouldn't deal that much damage. The only issue is making the structure subtle enough to pass inspection.

My other issue is my kidnapped runner. Piggot doesn't seem to believe me that it would return to my range on it's own. She's spent more resources looking for where it ran then who took it. Officially it's 'under investigation'. The manpower she has trying to find a way to track down the 'escaped bio-monster' is impressive, if a little sad. Even worse is that when I looked in to filing a complaint about it, it looked like she already had the backing of her boss. Since it doesn't look like she's going to look for a culprit very hard I think it's time to start planning my own search.

My first suspects were the PRT themselves or Blasto. The PRT would have had the easiest time of it, since they were the only ones who _should_ have known about the operation in the first place but I wasn't ruling out a major information leak.

Blasto on the other hand could reportedly clone the traits of any animal he got his hands on a sample of. One of my creatures would be a jackpot for him, and he wasn't that far away in Boston. That was half of the problem though, he was in Boston and my network didn't extend nearly that far. Even if I pulled my planter off it's current project of saturating the area around the aquifer/cave in the middle of Brockton, it would take far to long to extend my network out that far. At least he should be easier to cross off the list of suspects than the PRT, just visit him and _kindly_ ask.

I need a strike team.

Something that can operate safely out of my normal range without issue. That means that it will be composed of some of the larger forms. The leader will be one of the largest templates designed for leading troops in person, it has incredible synaptic links available along with some mental structures that I still couldn't readily identify. All I knew was that it wouldn't impact its instincts or behavior, so I decided to leave them in. Almost as tall as a two story house when standing, armoured like a living tank, and weighing several tons.

The 'commandos' will be roughly the same size as my planter, but capable of connecting to my long range relay node at will from anywhere in the world. Half the size of the leader, but these ones can fly. The truly scary thing is that there are templates for flying versions of the leader, they would just take too long to grow. As it is, it will take me two weeks for the leader to mature in the boat graveyard, and a week for each commando I want to make. That's right on the edge of what's bearable for me, I don't want the trail to go cold. I would have to be satisfied with a team of one leader and four commandos being ready in two weeks, between my various bases.

Since these are going to be forces that should never see the light of day, I don't mind arming them a little more dangerously than the rest of my stuff. I'm just glad that I can still cloak the leader, but it's right on the edge of what's feasible.

I ran in to an unexpected problem there, it turns out that a complication of running an active camouflage system like I have for my creatures is that the complexity of the data necessary to keep it running is the _cube_ of the surface area you're trying to cover. With my massive leader, it will burn calories like mad, but you can do it. Any larger and biological brains can't dissipate heat fast enough if you scale them up to match the information load necessary. Trying to cloak a larger creature would literally cook its brain, and trying to use distributed neural nets on different patches of skin doesn't help because you can see the seams bright as day. It would look like a wire frame model walking around, not exactly stealthy.

Their primary weapons would be monomolecular blades sharp enough to slice through armoured plate and living whips constructed with unbelievably strong muscle, even by my standards. The only reason that the muscle type used in the whips wasn't used in more places is that while it was far stronger, it couldn't contract useful distances for limb actuation. It was great for creating a tentacle that could break the sound barrier with it's tip and crush solid steel though.

In addition to my nets, each creature would have a launcher that could fire a semi-organic quasi-crystal thorough both sides of a tank. The crystal could also be steeped in horrifically toxic poisons at will, but didn't require it to fire.

But enough daydreaming about revenge, or, depending on the state I found it in, avenging my runner.

I was currently headed to Armsmaster's lab on the rig. Theoretically, it was just to retrieve the implanted explosives from him but I was also bringing some goodies.

First was a simple bio-electricity generator to get a feeling for how to generate safe levels of charge for disabling someone. I hoped to have a working prototype finished today.

Second was a present. It was the bio-construct that would spit out novel carbon compounds like a tape dispenser. It could even accept limited reprogramming of what it dispensed, albeit limited to simple macro structures.

My hope was that with him on my side, it would be a lot easier to sneak the bomb-safing mechanism past inspection, since he was likely going to be the first point of the checks.

When he opened the door to his office, I could see that Dragon was on one of his video screens, participating in the shared tinkering on some software project.

Dragon looked up at me as I entered. "Hello Hive. We were just discussing the echolocation project you got Colin started on."

Armsmaster looked up from what he was staring at when he heard my name. "Ah yes. Hello Hive. I would appreciate your insights."

I nodded and looked over what he was doing. "I'll take a look, but I wanted to get some other stuff out of the way first."

I set my boxes down on the desk, then pushed one towards him. "First is a present. We were talking the other day about a bio-construct that could spit out novel carbon chemistry chains. This is the first prototype of that idea. Right now it can only do three structures."

He quickly opened the box and started examining the roughly pyramidal structure.

"You feed carbon heavy products like wood or coal in the one face, here. It acts like a hopper. Right now the other three faces will dispense a line of a different macro structure."

After quickly looking around his lab, Armsmaster grabbed some paper and was about to feed it in when he thought to check that it would work.

"Paper should be a high enough carbon content right?"

At my nod, he started feeding paper in. Dragon looked amused at his excitement but didn't say anything.

"The first side dispenses carbon macro tubes. They have the highest possible tensile strength per mass. The second side is a braided nanotube line, slightly higher tensile strength, considerably higher mass and density."

He was already dispensing some of the nanotubes without even hearing about the third one yet.

"The third is designed with the highest possible expansion factor in mind. It will stretch incredibly far, steadily applying more resistance until it is taut. It's very similar to what I use in my nets."

Dragon spoke up, since it appeared Armsmaster would be happy to play with the dispenser for now. "I'll speak for Colin and say that it was very generous of you to make this. I would appreciate one as well of course."

Colin looked up at his name. "Hmm? Oh. Yes, of course I appreciate it. What was the other thing?"

I opened the other box. "This is a simple bio-electricity generator. I would like your help calibrating it's shock strength, but it should be simple enough to do later. The official reason I am here is to pick up the remote explosives for implanting in to my creatures."

Dragon and Armsmaster shared a look for a moment before Armsmaster walked over to some boxes on his work surface. His hand hovered over one of the boxes momentarily before he grabbed a different one.

"Here are the explosive the director asked me to make, to... neutralize your tinker creations." He took one of the spheroids out to show it to me.

"They are shaped charges,"

Damn, that will be a lot harder to counteract.

"So make sure you install them with the arrow facing the brain. Otherwise they may be... ineffective."

Wait. What? Is this Armsmaster being subtle about helping me? I'll take what I can get either way.

"Thank you Armsmaster, I will take care to install them correctly."

I could build a tiny muscular sheath to turn the explosives around at will so even a scan would find them facing the right direction, brilliant.

He just nodded solemnly. Dragon's face was unreadable. I decided to change the subject.

"You were talking about sonar when I came in?"

Armsmaster looked back at his computer. "Yes. We have most of the software written, since commercial sonar exists already, but we could use some help with identifying moving objects with the infrasonic range."

I nodded and started looking thorough his code, displayed on a secondary monitor. I wasn't sure how much of my knowledge was directly transferable, but I had also looked up a fair amount on programming in an attempt to get my internet connection to work.

"So you're having issues differentiating between moving targets and things that don't naturally produce a hard echo, like dirt?"

He nodded in response. "If we could simply pick a frequency that would selectively ignore the softer materials, it would work, but every material has a unique resonant frequency.

I scratched my head. "Have you tried summing the responses from several pulses and filtering out any overlap? That's how biological systems handle most of the information load. It leaves only things that have changed from one pulse to another, which still leaves things like running water in pipes, but at least it cuts out all the dirt and such."

Armsmaster started typing. "That could work."

"You could pick a frequency that responds very little to pure water to begin with, then filter out anything smaller than a person. That would deal with most of the water issue, leaving what? Shifting sand? Not something I think we need to worry too much about." Added Dragon.

"I think we'll have a working prototype ready soon. Next step is integrating it into my predictive combat software. It's not as good as the electoreception and sonar combination, but you were correct that it will be a powerful combat multiplier to know where everyone is." Armsmaster sounded pleased with the progress.

"I'm just glad I could help. My specialty doesn't lend itself towards direct specialization overlap after all, so I have to attack most of the problems from the side."

Armsmaster finished typing, then turned to me. "You said that you wanted to develop a taser system? The most important thing to remember about designing one for our line of work is that designing one for use on a Brute doesn't mean that you can't install limiters to use it on normal people as well, while the reverse is not true..."

o0O0o

I was back from the rig after a productive tinkering session, and looking forward to implementing the electric weapons. I had two modes, one was a biological capacitor that was the same size as the nets, and could be fired out of the net launcher. It would extend spikes while flying that could pierce clothes to touch skin, and it would discharge upon contact with the spikes.

The other idea was far simpler. I would extend an organometallic ligament all the way down the arms of my creatures and through the fingers and thumbs. It would allow me to shock anyone who I touched with a finger and thumb or both hands at the same time. I was in the middle of working out how to grow the ligaments in to my existing creatures when I heard a knock at the door to my lab.

"Hey, Dean. What's up?"

He looked a little downcast. "Hey Taylor. I wanted to apologize for that mess with Sophia. I can read emotions, and I knew that she was pretty toxic, but I never put two and two together. Sorry." He sounded pretty earnest.

"No sense in beating you up over it, I don't blame you guys. From what I heard from Carlos, she even took some of it out on you when I stopped reacting like she was expecting."

"Yeah..." He didn't look very reassured. How to distract him...

"Hey Dean, do you mind trying your emotion-blaster thing on me, I'm curious to see if I'm resistant to master effects and this is about as safe a situation as well ever be in. We can go get Chris to observe if you want, I know he's still tinkering in his lab over an idea I gave him yesterday."

That at least seemed to perk him up a bit. "Sure, I'll go get him, meet you in the common room?"

I nodded.

With that, he withdrew, and I made sure my hopper was filled for now before wandering over to the common room.

Dean was already there with Chris who was looking a little put out that he had been interrupted.

I walked to the middle of the room and braced myself. "Ready."

"OK, here goes." He let lose with a blast of light that struck me in the chest.

No response. "Doesn't seem to effect me? Interesting."

"Yeah, I watched it hit. If trying to effect normal people is like trying to push them over, trying to effect you is more like trying to push over a bus. I could see that it hit, you're just too... big, to be effected by it."

That was just too good of an opportunity to pass up. "Are you calling me fat?"

Dean groaned while Chris chuckled. "I walked right in to that one didn't I?"

Chris just shoved his shoulder. "Hey man, at least be glad that Clockblocker's not here."

"Laugh it up. What I want to know is how you'll react to Vicky's aura, it's not as strong as my blasts, but it's a lot harder to avoid."

"I guess we'll find out when I start Arcadia on Monday then."

"It will be cool to have someone else to talk to at lunch, it's hard having friends outside our circle who wouldn't ask too many questions about what we do after school all the time." Stated Chris.

He turned around. "Anyway, I want to get back to making the bio-interface module you wanted. It's going really well. Maybe when I'm done the cannon you can help me figure out my specialty."


	21. 3-6

3.6  
o0O0o0O0o

"Hey dad, do you think I should have director Piggot replaced?" I wondered aloud.

He turned to look at me with a strange expression on his face. "What brought this on? Do you suddenly have the power to do that?"

I was washing the dishes after supper, and I had been thinking the issue over all afternoon. "Piggot's test of my range went wrong and someone kidnapped one of my runners. The thing is, she doesn't believe me and thinks it just ran off. So she has me installing bombs in all my runners and swoopers."

His eyes widened and I could see that he wanted to interrupt, so I held up a finger. "Don't worry too much about the bombs themselves, I already have a solution to that. Armsmaster even helped me with it and I think Dragon is also aware of what's going on. But the fact that she even tried it means I have a PR bomb that I'm pretty sure could take her out of office if I pushed it."

"We'll need to have a talk at some point about what you find important enough to tell me Taylor." He shook his head.

"To answer your original question though: what result would be better for you, the PR fight and a new director or dealing with you current situation?"

I thought about it. "It would depend on who they put in for the next director. Some of the choices would probably be alright, like if they just promote the deputy director, but some of the candidates would be just as bad or worse than Piggot."

Dad was stacking the dishes for me as I dried them. "Have you considered just quitting the Wards? I know you think they'll put up a fight about it but you haven't done anything wrong."

With the last plate done, I just leaned up against the counter to look at him. "Yeah, and I still don't think it's the best plan. When they get too bad with restrictions, I'll just make more stuff in secret. No sense in giving up the good PR of being in the Wards. Let them 'fire' me if it gets to that point. It would look better for me to be unjustly let go than for me to storm off anyway."

Dad mirrored my posture. "I'll leave it up to you, so long as you realize that you've got more options than to sit there and take it."

"Oh don't worry, I won't let them push me around. At worst I'll let them think that they're pushing me around."

I grinned. "I've had enough experience being shat upon from great height that I don't think they'd ever figure out that I'm not just grudgingly complying. At least the experience is proving useful for something."

"That's certainly one way of looking at it. I'm just glad that you're taking everything in stride these days. It seems like you've got a great big emotional anchor and nothing moves you if you don't want to be moved, anymore. I guess you do if you think of your network like that."

Standing up properly, I agreed. "It's a lot harder to bother someone when you're only interacting with, like, their left hand. Anyway, I'm going to go work on a biological targeting system for one of Kid Win's projects at my base. I'll be back before ten though."

I was almost out the door when I remembered, and stuck my head back inside. "Oh, dad! I'm getting an official public introduction as part of the Wards on Saturday. Want to come to the public conference thing they're going to have?"

He called out from the living room. "Sure, just let me know when. I'll be there. See you later."

o0O0o

Making a mass of neural tissue for target tracking was an interesting exercise. I took programming and instincts out of half a dozen templates for a good mix of motion tracking and object recognition, depending on what the input senses form the device were. It was even relatively easy to include one compound eye that could do a rudimentary job of motion tracking if the module stopped getting data inputs at all.

The difficult half of the project was the friend or foe recognition system. It was asking a lot of a proto-brain to tell 'who the bad guys were', when that was difficult for humans to determine sometimes.

The first part of the solution was to tag anyone who made an attack against the weapons platform itself, or its user. Also relatively easy was allowing for a radio controlled target designation with a handshake protocol so that no one else could steal control of the platform. Identifying a known list of allies was doable, although you would need to add them prior to an engagement.

The final step was a fairly sophisticated social comprehension module that allowed for people assisting known allies to be temporarily added as provisional allies, and anyone attacking someone from the allies lists would be added to the provisional enemies list, in descending order based on the surety of the chain of assumptions that led to their inclusion on the list.

Overall, I was satisfied that it would work as a decent baseline to improve from. That was the other advantage of a biological system of course, it learned from its errors and improved its own friend or foe recognition 'software' until it would have a far more sophisticated system than the one I had initially designed. It would be interesting to see how fast it learned.

I hoped that Chris would be pleased with the effects when I brought it in to the lab tomorrow after the Wards were off school. He had been really excited with his progress with making the integration module, as well as his success with modifying the cannon itself to accept the targeting information to auto track targets.

With that project complete, I decided to check to see what kind of surveillance the PRT had set up around the base. I was entirely unsurprised to find IR cameras in the back room, looking at where I grow things, which right now consisted of my replacement runner. The part that did surprise me was the sophisticated temperature sensor. It was actually a pretty clever way of determining if I was growing anything I wasn't supposed to. Growth, especially fast growth, was just always going to give off a certain amount of heat. So if you suspected growth that you couldn't see, measure the temperature.

Curiosity sated, I turned my armour invisible again and decided to visit the very rudimentary tunnel that the planter had finished digging from Captain's hill to my new, mostly submerged cave beneath the city. I hadn't finished draining and rerouting the water yet, so the whole thing was still underwater, but at least the first trunks of the seeds I had planted had made it down there.

My planter had been busy clearing space down there, so there was enough space to move around and start growing my commandos. I wanted to check out their development 'in person' even though I could see perfectly well through the eyes of my planter, and could feel the bases themselves. I guess I was still thinking 'body-centric' thoughts. Ha! For a hivemind that could be a serious disorder if not treated with care and attention. I'd better tell my hivemind therapist about it...

I needed the new base to grow the commandos because my garden base was now under surveillance and my boat base was entirely focused on growing the leader.

I think once I have my strike team, it is time to start expanding out of Brockton Bay properly. Set the planter on a few longer range missions to start long range relays and a new network of nodes in some secluded areas and I would be set. If I also started a new base at each location, and grew a new planter from each base, I could start expanding geometrically.

It would also be cool to start a true sea base. I wouldn't worry about deep sea trenches yet, but planting out on the continental shelf a ways would be a cool excuse to go swimming all the time, and exploring the sea bed a bit.

It would take me months, since I was focusing on slow and steady, but I would eventually be large enough to help people the way _I wanted_ without being threatened by idiot politicians with being nuked.

I wasn't an idiot, I could see the pattern that my templates painted. I estimated that if I focused on nothing but growth and consumption, I could cover the entire planet including the seas in less than a year. Probably even half a year, depending on resistance from parahumans. And I was getting very good at estimating these days. To do so would also mean forgoing my humanity though, and I wanted to use this power to uplift and protect humanity, not consume it.

Enough philosophy. I was at Captains hill, standing before the well concealed entrance to my new base. In simple terms, it was a large boulder that looked naturally placed. I had actually brought it to this specific location in the dead of night last week with the planter. Lifting the thing was right on the edge of my capabilities, even with my armour, but I rolled it aside, then crawled in the surprisingly tight hole.

I didn't want to have piles of excavated dirt everywhere, so most of the tunnel was made by displacing the soil, and then by pushing the excess material in to the cave to be consumed later. I crawled a ways, before the soil gave way to soggy hard packed earth, then rough gravel, then finally the limestone that the cave was made out of. By now I was underwater, but with my suit I could breathe with no problem.

Even without my suit, I could breathe underwater, or use the same anaerobic processes as my creatures to function without oxygen entirely. It was just very uncomfortable in my human body. That, and the fact that operating without oxygen made me very sluggish and burned calories like they were going out of style. There was a reason that basically no organism with the option of using oxygen went without.

Crawling through the last of the tunnel, I finally reached my new base. It wasn't much to look at. In fact, until I ignited my bioluminescence, it wasn't anything to look at. Light simply didn't penetrate this far down.

It was otherworldly down here. Twisted structures of mostly dissolved stone, undisturbed for thousands of years, illuminated by a ghostly blue glow from my suit. The pulsating growth pods that held my immature commandos certainly added to the air of unreality.

Clearing the stone would take time, and I didn't want to rush and cause a sinkhole, so I would slowly be building a shell of bone-like walls to support the roof. Then I would crush the stone within and feed it to my growth pods for material. With the space clear, I would slowly use the water as well, until I was left with a watertight cave of bone beneath the city itself. It would take weeks to do properly. The aesthetics of it would be cool if nothing else.

I knew that the first set of commandos would be ready less than a week now, although the second set would take until the leader itself was complete around the beginning of March. The tunnel would have to be slightly widened to get the commandos out of here but they could dig at it from the inside to prevent any disturbance at the tunnel entrance.

The commandos were growing just fine, although still at the very infancy of their development. Interesting to me was the fact that the swords were developing right along with the creatures themselves, already in hand ready to use the instant they emerged.

The swords themselves were somewhat of a mystery to me. Theoretically they were just made of reinforced bone with some modified neural tissue and an exotic crystal structure running down the core. Admittedly very strong, but I knew instinctively that they would be _stronger_ than they should be in the hands of my greater templates. There was some explanation for why only the larger templates could wield the boneswords properly, and it had something to do with those extra structures in their brains. I was just starting to be able to see the edges of the explanation. Even a week or two ago, I'm not sure I would have been able to sense that something was odd about them.

Hopefully I would be able to figure it out, because the ability to produce meta-materials with physical properties greater than they should exhibit was extraordinarily valuable even if they had to maintain contact with one of my greater creatures to continue to show the effects.

Already I could picture a multitude of uses. Unbreakable tethers, unpierceable shields, and impenetrable armour. Or at least greater than they should be. I wasn't arrogant enough to believe they would be able to slow someone like the Siberian.

It also answered a question I had floating around my head since I got good enough in my understanding of math and physics to work out that the largest ground based templates shouldn't work. If they rigidly adhered to the rules of physics, they would be able to stand, just. Even with my improved biology they would be straining to stay up the entire time. The bones were plenty strong, but muscles just didn't get strong enough to move them like they would need. They certainly wouldn't be able to run, and yet I knew that my titans would be able to run and move startlingly fast, never mind for a creature that size.

I think now that my internet connection was up and running, my next major project will be to contemplate those extra brain structures, and some of the more exotic synapse creatures. I felt like there was another level of understanding about my own network that was just out of reach.

It was a strange mix of very advanced math, some high level physics, and _philosophy_ of all things, but gaining an understanding of the nature of reality to a level that I could start to affect it would be an immense undertaking and the sooner I started, the sooner I would start getting results. I hoped. There was a distinctly non-linear nature to the understanding. I wasn't sure if I could reliably predict the applications of the information until I understood them anyway, making trying for specific effects or nuggets of understanding an exercise in frustration.

In video game terms, I was blindly exploring the tech tree with no idea what had dependencies on other branches and no idea where any particular branch could lead. At least I would never be bored at this rate. Even taking in to account my growth, it would take me anywhere from decades to centuries to actually _understand_ some of the effects I would be using to a level that I could start developing them in novel directions.


	22. 3-7

3.7  
o0O0o0O0o

I was in the Wards headquarters on Wednesday afternoon, working on making sure my lab was coming along, when Chris stuck his head in the door to my lab. He had been here every day after school so far this week, working on the interface module.

"Hey Taylor! I think I'm done. Well, ready for your part. So, not really _done_ done, but ready for the next stage. Do you have your part with or do you want to work on it now?" He got out in a rush.

I was out of my armour, which was standing vigil in the corner of my lab, so I walked over to it and opened the panel that I had the targeting bio-construct in. "Yes. I have it with me." I waved the part at him.

He rushed over and extended his hands to take it, before shrinking back. "Can-" His voice came out with a squeak so he cleared his throat.

"Uh, can I look at it?"

I handed it over and he immediately turned it around, examining it from every angle. "It's hard? I dunno why I expected it to look like a brain or something. So it can do object tracking right? I mean, I know you said that that's what you were building it for, but I. I haven't had a chance to collaborate with many other tinkers before." He looked kind of down for a moment, before smiling.

"I mean. Armsmaster tries, but my dyscalculia is so frustrating for him to work with that we decided it would be better if he just looks over my designs when I'm finished them. But this is a proper collaboration."

I finally decided that I would just have to interrupt him if I wanted to get a word in edgewise. "Yes, it's hard. I made it so that it could take a tumble and still function, it's also red to go with your colour scheme. Do you want to go install it on your module?"

He nodded rapidly, then rushed out of the room. I followed him, glad he seemed to be enjoying collaborating. When I got to his lab he already had his half of the component mounted on the work table, the surface glittering with contacts. Chris looked at me questioningly.

"So I just press it on right? Or do I need to do something else to prepare it?"

I indicated the flat surface of the module, the whole thing was shaped roughly like a drop of water sitting on leaf. "Just peel off the film off of the bottom there, that will expose the neural tissue for the contact points. I over-saturated the bottom with them, so you can't misalign it or anything. Just make sure you face the nodule there towards the front of the cannon."

He peeled off the clear film and carefully placed the interface on the contact points of his half. It suctioned itself on immediately. As he was examining the seal, he was asking me questions. "So what is the nodule for?"

"It's actually a compound eye. It will serve as a back up sensor if the ones on your cannon get damaged or stop transmitting." I chuckled at his wide eyes at that pronouncement.

"Really? Huh. So I know it does target tracking, but is it capable of tracking more than one target at once? The less I have to baby it in a real fight, the more I can focus on other stuff." He was unclamping the module from the table to go test fit it to the frame of the alternator cannon itself.

"Chris, what do you take me for? It can track every target on sensors as well as determine an ordered friend or foe designation with descending threat priority. It will handle everything other than pulling the trigger, and once it learns enough about the operating of your gun it can even select energy types based on the target automatically. If you trust it enough, you can even hand over firing control once it improves it's target designation models a bit."

He seemed at a loss for words. "I don't. I mean. I didn't mean to imply-"

"Don't worry about it Chris. I was joking. It really can do those things, but you had no way of knowing that." I tried to give a reassuring smile. I think it even worked, he calmed down a little.

Continuing, I tried to explain more about my design choices. "You mentioned that you wanted it to be an auto-tracking turret, and I figured that making an auto-turret entirely wasn't too much of a further step. I just hope that it will pass the approval process. The director doesn't seem to like me very much."

Chris looked glad to finally have a topic of conversation that he could contribute to. "Oh I wouldn't worry too much about that. The director has to be informed of the results of the approval process, but she doesn't perform it or anything. It's usually done primarily by the senior Tinker in the district, which in Brockton Bay is Armsmaster. That, and the plans have to be sent off to an office in New York, to get distributed to the Protectorate Tinker that will have the greatest understanding of the tech and has signed up for approval work. When you graduate to the Protectorate, that's one of the ways that you can make extra money as a Tinker, signing up for the approval list. It helps if you know your specialty though..." He trailed off at the end reminded of his lack of Tinker specialty so far.

Lets see I can help him. "So, what have you made so far that came really easy to you? That might help identify what your specialty is."

He placed his hand on his chin and looked around his lab at the piles of half finished projects. "The design for the alternator cannon came pretty easy, especially the part that you helped with. Honestly, despite it's complexity, it was almost easier for me than my pistols. I could only get those to work when I added complexity to them, which doesn't make any sense. Why would a simple laser pistol be hard, but a laser pistol that can serve as a backup power source for my hoverboard work?"

"Maybe it has to do with multiple functionality? Like, you could make a Swiss army knife, but not a pocket knife? Your alternator cannon has multiple energy modes for firing, so that could account for the multifunctionality aspect."

Chris looked excited. "I like it, that would be a cool specialty too, really broad. I think I'll work on my hoverboard to test it, see if I can turn the antigrav into a kinetic barrier so the whole thing can act as a shield when I'm not riding on it." With that, he turned and stated taking screws out of his hoverboard.

I took it as a dismissal, since he was deep in to Tinker fugue already by the looks of it. Walking back out to the common area, I decided to see who else had turned up after school. There were usually one or two Wards on base and two on patrol on any given day after school, so I was unsurprised to see Carlos sitting in the Console chair. From the sounds of it he was talking to Missy and Dennis who were on patrol. I discretely sent an invisible swooper to trail them from the skies, watching for any trouble they might run in to. I wasn't officially supposed to do patrols with the Wards until my debut on Saturday, but I had enough bodies that trailing behind them as invisible backup just made sense. In fact, I made a mental note to have one creature trailing behind any active patrol that the Protectorate or the Wards sent out. My bodies could heal a lot faster than my team mates could after all.

When there was a lull in the radio chatter, I decided to talk to Carlos. "Hey Carlos. Are you busy?"

He looked up at me. "Please, I was about to pull out the cell phone games. Console is important, but usually pretty boring."

"I know I mentioned the other day on the way to the infirmary I mentioned that I could emulate some of what you do because I'm a bio-tinker, do you mind if I get a look at your genome? I could potentially learn a lot, depending on how your power works." I got a rather nervous look in response.

"Uh. What would be involved?" He asked, shifting in his seat slightly.

"Oh, sorry, forgot to elaborate. I just want a couple of hairs, taken out by the root. I'd go put them in my lab to analyze. I could probably give you some information within about ten minutes if you're interested."

He looked relieved that it was so simple. "Sure." Carlos just grabbed a few hairs and yanked, then handed them to me.

I took them carefully, nodding to him, then headed to my lab. What I carefully had _not_ said was that I could probably gain the same information by just eating the hairs, but that would be _creepy_. Feeding the hairs in to my digestor, bypassing the hopper so that the genetic material wouldn't be mixed in with the other bits that got fed into it.

It only took a few seconds for the hair to start breaking down and I payed attention to the information coming off of it as it came apart. Normally I just tuned this out, there was only so much information you could get from digesting the one hundredth example of something after all. I soon had reams of information scrolling through my head. I could tell a lot about Carlos' genetics, but no sign of his power or adaptations. That's unfortunate.

One of my working hypotheses for how Aegis' power worked was that it was all biologically driven, and that's the one I had been hoping was the case. Unfortunately it looked like the other likely explanation was the truth: his redundancy was caused directly by his power, and it didn't physically or genetically change his actual body when it underwent a change in function. Oh well.

Walking back in to the common area I waved to get his attention from his phone games. He looked up at me with a questioning look on his face. "So how did it go?"

I let a little of the frustration I felt leak in to my voice. "I got loads of information about your genetics, but unfortunately it looks like your power doesn't have a base in the biology of your body. It's still theoretically possible that it induces the changes on the spot when you actually get injured, but that's a pretty long shot. Much more likely is that your power just takes care of that sort of stuff for you. Oh well, thanks for chance to test it."

He nodded with a slightly consoling smile. "I'm not sure I would follow the technical explanation, but I get the gist. So, you didn't get anything?"

"Not anything useful for powers at any rate. I did learn that you have a genetic predisposition towards pancreatic cancer. Your power would probably mean that it wouldn't hurt you too bad but you might want to talk to your relatives about it since it's likely that at least some of them share it."

"Thank you for the warning. I'll talk to my parents about it tonight. You really get that much information just from some hair?"

He looked like he was trying to change the subject, so I obliged him. "Yes, pretty much the whole genome. Height, hair colour, predisposition towards a specific weight, metabolism, the lot. If I decided to go the Rogue route instead of being a hero I would probably charge for custom genetic analysis, since that can be a pretty valuable service."

"Hmm. I've never really thought about trying to be a Rogue I guess, my power wouldn't help me out much trying to make money."

We both sat in companionable silence for a while, before I thought of another subject to discus.

"Hey, I've got a question for you." I broke the quiet that had descended, only the muffled sounds of Chris tinkering in the background.

"What equipment do you think would be useful for the wards or the PRT troopers? I'm looking for a decent project to work on but I don't have any great ideas yet. I can make tinker tech that self repairs after all, may as well outfit my allies."

Aegis just scratched his head. "Anything? Well, it's less necessary for me but the most important would probably be armoured inserts for our costumes or something for immediate wound dressing when someone gets injured in the field."

I liked those ideas. Now how to refine them...

"The armour should be easy enough. I can make a machine that spits out shaped plates of graphene composite armour panels a bit like my creatures use. Or even something that will coat whatever you place in the chamber so that you can use whatever shape fits best. I'm sure the PRT troopers would love being a bit more bulletproof and I don't think the Wards bodysuits are armoured at all, right?" He shook his head.

"The wound dressing though... I'll have to think about it, and possibly consult with Panacea. That's a hard one. If it works though, I could see mass producing it. Thanks for the idea, I'm going to go tinker for a while."

I headed to my lab.

The easiest way to improve the armour for the PRT troops at least would be to replace the ceramic composite and steel inserts that made up the trauma plates in their armour. I dialed the extension for materials acquisition from memory on the phone that had been wired in to my lab.

"PRT materials department, how can I help you?" Came the pleasant voice on the other side.

"This is Hive. I was hoping to have a full set of PRT trooper field armour with trauma plates brought to my lab. I'm going to be making improved armour plates and would like an example to work from."

She wasn't flustered for a second. They got some very strange requests through the materials department while supplying tinkers. Armsmaster had even asked for a commercial fish finder to help with the sonar project.

"Will you be destructively modifying or testing the equipment, Hive?" A surprisingly common issue with Tinkers.

"No, I just want an example of the shape to form the armour plates in to. I know that the cost will be deducted from my account if I damage it." Not that I couldn't afford it, since I basically didn't use any of my Tinkering budget under normal circumstances, but it didn't hurt to be careful.

"I'll have one brought to you from the armoury. Was there anything else?" Still pleasantly cheerful. I hoped she genuinely enjoyed her job as much as it sounded like she did.

"No thank you."

Now. If I used reinforced bone for the base, and graphene composite for strength, it would be strong, while still absorbing some of the force by allowing the bone to fracture...


	23. 3-8

3.8  
o0O0o0O0o

It was Friday evening and Kid Win and Clockblocker were both on base with me. Clockblocker was already playing games while technically doing console duty. He had even dragged the lounge TV around to a better angle so that he could play on the games console while sitting at the Wards console. Me and Kid Win were both sitting at the table, going over paperwork.

In exchange for helping him out with his cannon, Kid Win had agreed to walk me through getting one of my inventions approved. I decided to start out easy with my taser balls. Since my launcher was grandfathered in, I just had to get the additional ammo approved.

Chris had the forms spread out in front of us on the common room table, with a couple of my taser balls sitting in a pile in front of us.

He was currently shuffling papers looking for the one that allowed for samples of tech to be given for analysis.

"This one is pretty important for getting approved faster. It's also required if you're trying to approve ammunition, unless you get dispensation for unique creations. Technically you can submit one-off stuff through the same process and if you check this box here-" He pointed half way down the page. "Then they take care to try to put your stuff back together in working order. I usually don't bother 'cause it takes almost as long as just getting it approved without an example to examine, if you do a good enough write up."

I was nodding along and adding the occasional agreeable sound. "So how detailed does the write up have to be? I saw that you could print out extra pages if you ran out of room on the first one, but I've got no idea how detailed to be."

He wobbled his hand back and forth. "Eh, it sort of depends. If you provide an example to work from, then you're usually alright with a decent description and use case, but adding more detail pretty much always helps it pass faster. If you don't provide enough information, then they just kick it back, it's not like it gets rejected or anything. They only actually hand out rejections for safety concerns."

I started filling out the sheet to provide examples of the tech to be examined, indicating that I didn't mind if it got tested destructively.

Chris continued on the same thought. "Making a better write up also helps other people reverse engineer your tech. That's actually pretty sweet because both Tinkers end up getting a payout for helping to understand tinker tech better. I've only had one of my power supplies reverse engineered by another tinker before, but it adds a slight permanent bonus to your tinker budget so I'm pretty happy with it."

When I finished the paper I was filling out and put my ammo in to a little sample box, Chris handed me the next form.

"This is the big one. Safety concerns. You have to list the failure modes for if your tech is damaged or malfunctions, and any potential dangers it poses when used. They're usually pretty reasonable about it but there can be some pretty stiff punishments if you don't disclose something, trying to get it past."

He looked a little sheepish, so I'm pretty sure he was speaking from experience.

"This list at the top is intended use category. If you list your device in the higher classifications of use, like endbringer fights only, then they go easier on the restrictions for safety. I'd recommend trying for the lower classifications first, then appealing with a higher classification if it doesn't pass. Appeals happen pretty fast, and it sucks to only be able to bring out some of your tech against certain classes of threats."

As I started filling in the information, I decided to ask him about our joint project.

"So Chris, how is the progress coming on the alternator cannon?"

Looking down, he spoke a little defensively. "I put it off for now, OK? I really wanted to try out your idea for my specialty. I'm not making much progress yet, but I'm sure I just need to settle on a design or something."

I tried to reassure him. "Don't worry about it Chris, I'm just happy you're making progress. The alternator cannon is your project, you can put it off if you want. Besides, you'll probably have an easier time finishing the cannon once you know your specialty."

"It's just that, I already have so many unfinished projects y'know? So your comment kind of got to me. Sorry to snap at you." He was still looking down, but at least he sounded more like his usual self again.

He changed the subject, a little abruptly. "How are you looking forward to your debut tomorrow? I didn't enjoy it, but Clockblocker loved his, that's how he got his name passed."

"I don't really know what to expect. I know that they want me up on stage to say a few words and to show off one of each of my creatures, but doing that sort of stuff doesn't bother me as much as it used to. I'm more nervous about starting Arcadia on Monday."

I wasn't looking forward to it, but at least I had come to peace with my continued presence in school. At least for now. I'm not sure I'll bother with continuing education past high school. University didn't really hold anything I needed, and it certainly wouldn't be teaching me anything. Maybe I should go for a physics or math degree, just to blow their minds? Eh, I'm not petty enough to bother with that. That, and it would draw too much attention to myself.

Chris looked a little ambivalent. "Arcadia? It's not that bad I suppose. Nothing like Winslow, from what I've heard, but it's not like it's perfect. I'm stuck in remedial math, but at least they don't have gang signs on the walls. Did that actually happen at Winslow? I heard about it, but I don't know if Dennis was just pulling my leg."

Clockblocker looked up from his game when he heard his name. He called out jokingly, "Hey, I resent that remark. I'm not sure what exactly you were actually talking about, but I'm sure it's not accurate."

I nodded in answer to Chris' question, just ignoring Dennis. "Yeah. Not that often, and the janitors were pretty quick at getting them covered up usually, but we'd get maybe three or four per year? Something like that."

I pointed at the last sheet I was filling out. "So this is the last one? Do I need to do anything else?"

Chris checked over my paperwork that I'd filled out so far. "Yup, that's all the paperwork. Now you just need to supply a couple of photos, and mail it off. I'll go get you one of the standardized packages we use."

Stapling my papers together, I grabbed my Wards phone and took a couple of photos of my taser balls from a couple of angles, with and without the tiny spikes extended. When I dropped the photos in a file on the local PRT servers I also uploaded photos of the paperwork for completeness. I then boxed up the fresh samples in their little sample jars in the package that Chris had provided.

Placing the sealed box in the pile for outgoing mail, I was just about to return to my lab when the costume alarm sounded. Dennis was already in costume, so me and Chris rushed to our labs to put ours on as well.

When we both got back to the common room, Chris hit the door release signifying we were all costumed. He had only bothered with his mask, since his armour took a lot longer to put on than mine.

Officer Johnson came in, looked around, then angled towards me. "Hive, the Deputy Director wanted to speak with you about tomorrow's event. Would you please come with me?"

At my assent, he led me out of the Wards area to the elevator. On the way up, I decided to fill him in on my idea for the PRT troopers.

"Hey. You mentioned the other day that I should help out the troopers if I could. Well, I'm currently working on making a machine that will spit out better trauma plates for you guys. Lighter and much more bullet resistant than your current stuff." I said with a hint of pride in my voice.

He turned his head towards me as we stepped out of the elevator. "Don't that beat all. You've certainly got my vote, now I just have to hope it doesn't get hung up in the gears of bureaucracy until I retire. I'll make sure to speak to the Deputy Director on your behalf about getting some of it field tested."

We had arrived at Deputy Director Renick's office and Johnson gave me a mocking low bow before wandering off.

At my knock, Renick's low voice came through the door. "Come in."

I entered and carefully sat in the chair in front of his desk, testing it to make sure it was one of the reinforced ones that could take the weight of me in my armour.

"You wanted to speak with me about tomorrow?"

Renick nodded ponderously. He gave the impression that he never did anything suddenly. "Yes. Thank you for being prompt. I wanted to discuss the itinerary, as well as some of the emergency procedures. It rarely comes up, but it wouldn't be the first time some villain hoping to make a name for themselves tried attacking a debut."

He paused, but he hadn't asked me a question, so I assumed he was just giving me time to ask my own instead of interrupting him if I had any. When it became obvious I didn't have anything to say, he proceeded.

"We will be holding a press conference open to the public at noon, in front of the PRT building. I expect you to be there in armour at least an hour early to go over any last minute issues. Your father is welcome to watch from the crowd. We will have several members of the PRT as well as the Protectorate watching for trouble, so you can focus on giving your speech and answering a few questions. We have the questions coming from the press, as a pre-approved list of topics they are allowed to go over." He handed me a sheet of paper.

"Please go over the list tonight, and think of suitable answers to the questions that are in bold. We are available for consultation if you have any questions about how you should answer. We will also have several pre-prepared speeches if you feel uncomfortable coming up with one on your own, although you are allowed to deviate from them if you desire to do so. Just note that this will be broadcast on TV, and will be filtered for profanity or vulgar speech." He cracked a smile.

"Now. With all the legalese out of the way, I encourage you to come up with something yourself for your speech. Having something written inexpertly still usually offers a better public response than a pre-canned speech. The only restriction other than keeping it family friendly is to avoid talking about your identity, or things that would be clues for someone to work out who you are, such as details about your trigger event. Are there any questions?"

I thought about it for a second, before the obvious jumped to mind. "Yes. What do we do about my creatures. I know we wanted them with me to demonstrate on stage, but do I reveal the fact that I can talk through them? I know it will come out eventually, but I don't know whether it would be better to release it now or later."

Renick looked pleased that I had thought of it. "We'll release it now, if there's a convenient point in the press conference. The PR department thinks it's best to just 'rip the band-aid off' as it were. So long as you don't belabor the point, it should come out alright. It's already known that you are a bio-tinker with well behaved constructs and no one has tried to burn down the building yet."

Nodding, I decided to talk about the other topic I would need to bring up with someone soon at any rate: the armour plate producer. "Deputy Director Renick, I have another matter to bring to your attention. I was hoping to produce a machine that can spit out trauma plates for the standard PRT field armour that are a considerable upgrade on the current models, but I was unsure how to go about getting it approved. Other than getting it passed the standard approval process, what do I need to do?"

He pondered the question quietly for a while. "The approval process should be the same as for most tinker tech, the hard part would be authorizing it for field use for the troopers. I would need to get approval of a couple of departments, but I could get most of it done myself."

He gave me an evaluating look. "Would you be able to get me a sample of one of the plates, so I could do some testing on it myself, as well as one to show off to the other departments? A practical demonstration would go a long way towards getting the go ahead."

I nodded enthusiastically. "Of course. I could have two plates ready for tomorrow. I'll drop them in the outgoing mail, addressed to your office. That would work, right?"

He gave a slow nod. "I hadn't expected them to be ready so fast, but yes, you could get them to me that way. You've given me a lot to think about. If there wasn't anything else, I would like to get back to my paperwork."

I headed back to my lab and immediately set to work making two armour plates. It would be less efficient to form them directly like this than to build the plate making machine, but it would be considerably faster. Since I only wanted two, it would be worth it.

First I made sure the hopper was fed. Looked like today, the staff had decided to go with the kitchen waste from the PRT cafeteria, one of my preferred sources since food was very energy dense compared to most garbage.

Next, I started the formation of the bone substrate that made up the core of the armour panels. The design was fairly simple, I just copied the curve and shape of the plates from the standard armour exactly.

The last stage was letting the growth medium cover the bone, then start depositing alternating layers of graphene and a biological epoxy that worked better than any adhesive on earth. When I was satisfied that it was growing correctly, I turned on the fans in my lab and got ready to go home. It would take several hours of depositing microscopically thin layers on the bone to get the desired strength and toughness, but they would be ready for tomorrow.


	24. 4-1 Danny Interlude

4.1 Danny Interlude  
o0O0o0O0o

Danny brushed his teeth as he got ready for the day. He didn't have work today, but he was getting up for the big event. Big for their family at least. Today was the day that Taylor got introduced as a Ward to Brockton Bay and the world.

It had been a month and a half blur, since Taylor had been sent to the hospital by that damned school. He had been apocalyptically furious at the school administration on his way to the hospital, which had eased its way into a dead numbness about the whole situation by the time she had awoken. At first he had simply thought she had been bouncing back faster than expected and had put it out of his mind.

He had put a lot out of his mind. Ever since Annette. But Taylor telling him that she had powers had been just the wake up call he needed.

Annette had been involved in the Cape scene when she was young and hot headed. Even though she managed to get out before it turned bad, Danny had an acute awareness of how dangerous the world of Capes could be.

What a power though. She could make whole species, if what she told him was accurate. Not that she ever would. That damned proscription on self replication was going to give him a heart attack one day. He had nightmares of some politician getting it in their head to change the law slightly and his daughter would be fighting for her life.

Getting dressed in casual street clothes, he went downstairs to eat breakfast. Taylor had thoughtfully left some sliced fruit out for him to go with his usual oatmeal. It was still pretty early, but he wanted to get there early so that he had a good view of the stage.

They had spent hours last night going over the pre-approved question list, as well as what she would do for a demonstration of her abilities. He was pretty sure they had all the angles covered, but there was still a pit of worry in his stomach. Honestly, at this point he was pretty sure he was more worried about it than she was.

o0O0o

Danny was standing in the crowd, which was milling around waiting for the press conference to start. Most of them were cape fans of one kind or another, but some were just people who had nothing better to do on a Saturday, or happen to stop by as they were walking past to see what the crowd was gathering for. It was hard to get too bored, even though the event hadn't started yet, he knew that his daughter was going to be up there.

Most of the crowd was staring at Battery or Armsmaster, the two Protectorate heroes 'flying the flag' for today. Some were getting a close look at the impassive PRT guards with their reflective face shields and protective gear. If he understood Taylor correctly, she was working on something on that front. Something about better armour for the PRT troopers.

It was hard to follow his daughter when she started getting in to the details about her abilities, but he tried his hardest to keep up. He had even taken up learning more about biology in his spare time to allow him to understand more of the details she gave him about what she was doing.

Danny was distracted from his musings when a PRT official came up on stage. They somehow managed to give the impression of a cross between a military commander and a politician. Although, thinking about it, that was probably a pretty accurate job description for what they did most of the time. Walking up to the mic, they started the event.

"Welcome, ladies and gentlemen of Brockton Bay, I'm Deputy Director Renick. We are here today to introduce the newest Ward. But you didn't come here to listen to some guy in a suit talk, so let me hand it over to Hive herself!" He gestured to the back of the stage, and Hive and two of her creatures faded in to view, even though there was nothing around to conceal them.

The crowd clapped at her entrance, as she approached the mic to begin the speech she had planned out.

"Hi, I'm Hive. These are my creatures, you may have seen them on the news a few days ago. And yes, we can turn invisible. I'm sure the criminals of Brockton Bay won't appreciate that fact as much as you just did." She continued with a smile in her voice.

She had changed so much in the time since she had gained powers. Not that long ago, she would have been quaking at the thought of going up on stage to give a speech, now she gave every appearance of eating it up. Danny still couldn't tell how much of the change was her improved confidence in her abilities and how much was the way that her powers had affected the way she thought directly. He tried not to let it keep him up at night, but Danny knew that her powers _were_ affecting her thoughts. He just had to trust that Taylor knew what she was doing, since she was also aware of the way her thoughts had been affected.

They had stayed up late last week, just talking about it. Well, late for him. He found out that Taylor didn't need to sleep any more, hadn't ever since that first terrible week. She knew about the mental influences on herself, and tried to at least be intentional about them. The largest of course being the fact that she was part of a network these days. It was s strange thought, knowing that his daughter was a tiny part of a mind much greater than his own these days. The other major influence was the fact that her other bodies didn't think like humans, although according to her, it wouldn't affect her sense of self that much because the creatures didn't have much of a sense of self themselves. Intelligence, yes; self awareness even. But not a personal identity like humans had.

He had pointed out to her that she acted like an immovable rock these days. Nothing affected her emotionally if she didn't want it to. That's not to say she couldn't feel joy or anger, just that she only felt them right up to the line where it would start to affect her behavior, and no further.

Danny was mostly tuning out Taylor's speech, focusing on the reactions of the crowd instead. He had helped her write the speech last night, so he already mostly knew the content at any rate.

When she had first appeared, people had been whispering about her entrance, her creatures, and how much of her power was still being kept hidden. Most of the reaction to her creatures was centered around her flying, dragon-like one, since basically everyone in the city had seen the video of her and her runner walking down the boardwalk by now.

Overall, he was impressed with how people were taking it. Then again, these were largely cape geeks so their reaction wasn't entirely representative. Danny had woken up in a cold sweat several nights, afraid that people had come to drag his daughter off because of her powers.

People in the crowd ooh'd and aah'd when Taylor had her swooper display it's wings, then had psychedelic patterns play over them using the camouflage. When the strobing colours seemed to melt, then transition to playing over her armour and runner, people were even more impressed. He was pretty proud of giving her the idea to include that display as the conclusion to her brief speech about what her powers included. Let people focus more on her creatures' abilities than her ability to make the creatures themselves.

People were even more surprised when she gave a demonstration of speaking through the mouths of her creations. Although she managed to get some laughs with her faux ventriloquism act.

Before people could get bored with her demonstrations, she switched to taking some questions.

The newscasters were surprisingly well behaved, not jockeying for the first question like they sometimes did. His guess was that the PRT public relations department had them trained.

"Hive, how many creatures are you going to make?" Came the first question, from a serious looking man in a suit.

"I'll make enough to help cover my new friends and teammates, as well as help with some of the Protectorate patrols, although it will take me a while to build up to that number." Taylor, no, Hive right now, pointed to the next reporter.

This one was an excitable looking young man with microphone and a Triumvirate shirt on, obviously a cape geek. "What are your plans for the next creature type?"

She paused there for a second. "I'm not entirely sure yet. I was just pleased to find that I could make something that could fly. If anyone has any good ideas, I'd happily take suggestions. I'll make an officially verified account on PHO so that people can message me."

The crowd started talking about ideas, so Hive had to gesture for silence before the next reporter could as a question.

"Hive, how can you be certain that your creations will remain under control?"

Danny was glad that they had come up with a careful answer to that question the night before.

"If my creatures are within my area, they act by remote control, so there should be no issues. If they are ever taken out of my range, Director Piggot has ensured that countermeasures are available for someone trying to steal my work. One last question please." She pointed to another reporter.

"What are you going to do differently, to help clean up the Bay?" Asked a female reporter with an elaborate hairdo.

"I'd like to think I've already started. If you've been watching the news, you know that I donated tinker tech net-launchers to the BBPD, and they have started rolling them out in to field use over the past week. My goal is to help the city by doing mundane things with my power just as much as catching criminals."

She gave a slight bow to the audience. "Thank you for your questions."

With that over, Renick came back on to the stage to dismiss everyone, and the news crews started packing up. With so many people moving around, none of the audience noticed when Danny made his way back stage to see how Taylor was doing. Only people who were cleared to know Ward identities were allowed back there, so it wasn't a risk for exposing her identity to anyone.

He spotted her immediately, talking to Renick quietly off to the side, so he made his way over to them.

"Thank you for the armour plates Hive. I'll be testing them this afternoon. I look forward to seeing the results." Renick spotted Danny walking up and gave an acknowledging wave.

"I'll let you speak to your father, well done with the conference." With that, he walked off, angling towards one of the troopers on guard to talk about something.

Danny looked over his daughter, proud at how confident she looked, and how far she had come since the horrible attack on her at school. "Hey, Kiddo. I'm glad you seemed to take the conference in stride. You knocked 'em dead."

"Thanks dad, it was good to have it all prepared ahead of time. Thanks for the ideas with the demonstration, I think it helped people not freak out as much." She was about to continue when Danny spotted a young woman off to the side staring avidly at Taylor.

"Hey, Taylor. Who is that? Over there." He nodded with his head to avoid pointing at her.

Taylor looked over. "Hmm? I'm not sure, I don't... Oh, wait, I think that's Panacea. I'll go talk to her."

When Panacea saw that Taylor looked interested in talking to her, she hurried over to meet them.

Taylor greeted her with a friendly wave. "Hi, Panacea right? We met in my Wards signing."

"Yes. I'm Panacea, or, uh. Amy. Right now that is, since I'm not in costume right now. Nice to meet you." Amy extended her hand for Taylor to shake. Taylor opened the bottom half of her mask, to talk more directly.

Taylor carefully took Amy's somewhat dainty hand in her armoured one. After a polite handshake, she went to withdraw her hand, only to look down at their hands when Amy tightened her grip slightly.

"Nice to meet you as well, Amy. Um. Can I have my hand back now?"

Amy immediately blushed and withdrew her hand like she had been burned. Danny wasn't touching this one, he could see teenage drama coming from a mile away.

Amy stuttered, but continued. "Um. Yeah. Sorry. I've been meaning to talk to you since the other day, but Director Piggot kept blocking me for some reason. I was in the area when I heard about your press conference and I figured I would see you here."

She looked down, but kept talking. "I wanted to talk to you again about your creatures. Do you think that we might have a chance to get together at some point to talk about them? They have _really_ interesting biology." She was still blushing faintly, but had a determined look in her eyes.

Taylor nodded. "Sure, I'm going to be headed to Arcadia on Monday, so I can meet you there if you want."

Amy looked vaguely disappointed, until Taylor continued her thought. "Actually, I was hoping to collaborate with you on a project. I have a plan to try to make a biological spray or salve that would stop bleeding and prevent tissue necrosis and wound infection. Do you think you'd be up for it? We can talk more on Monday.

Amy nodded. "Yes. I'll talk to you then. Thanks for meeting me." She then tuned away, and walked off without another word. Only stopping once, to look back at Taylor's creations.

"That was odd." Muttered Taylor under her breath.

Danny couldn't help it and chuckled, startling Taylor, who had evidently forgotten that he was there.

When Taylor looked slightly hurt at his increased laughing, Danny managed to choke out "Don't worry about it Taylor. Us old people are used to being forgotten about. Don't you worry about me."

At her slightly dubious look, he managed to finally stop laughing to himself. "I'll see you at home Taylor, I know you were hoping to do more work on your lab today."

She gave him a slight glare, then relented. "Yeah, sure. See you later dad."

Danny just walked back to his car, wondering momentarily if he had ever been an oblivious teen, before sobering slightly. It had taken Annette literally smacking him in the face before he ever clued in. Maybe it just ran in the family.


	25. 4-2

4.2  
o0O0o0O0o

I was getting dressed for school on Monday, taking too long to decide what to wear. I was delaying and fully aware of that fact.

The funny thing was, I had thought that I put all of this behind me already, that I no longer cared what people thought. But I suppose that only really applied to people that I had already decided weren't worth the consideration, as in all of Winslow.

Oh well, if being a hivemind is good for anything it's having superhuman reserves of willpower to draw from when you want to make yourself do something. If all else failed, I would just pilot my body like a puppet instead of running most of my body's processes locally. I had tried it briefly once before, strange experience. It was simultaneously like someone else had control of my body, and like moving a puppet around. I suppose it's the difference between the 'me' riding around stored on my meat brain, and the 'me' that lives on the brains of my swarm.

I'm glad that I'm not predisposed towards existential dread, because that sort of thing could cause it in a person. The fact that 'you' could be taken over at any point against your will. For me it was kind of reassuring. I knew that if someone mastered or drugged my body, they would be in for a rude shock when it still followed 'my' commands without fail. It was nice to know that if I was behaving irrationally, and couldn't perceive it myself, I could simply let the greater mind take over and I was still me.

Speaking of which, while my body was still contemplating it's place in the world, I had it dress in the brighter clothes. May as well start the day with the best foot forward.

Hmm. Maybe I should come up with a different name for my [body self] and [mind self], keep things a little more straightforward. Taylor vs Tay or something? I'd think on it.

Tromping down the stairs, I greeted my dad as he sat eating his oatmeal.

"Good morning Taylor, you look chipper. Anything other than the start of a new school have you excited?" He took a sip of coffee.

"Sort of. I'm looking forward to the new school, and meeting with Amy again, and going on my first patrol tonight, officially. Don't worry, I'll bring along some creatures as backup. I'll probably be back late tonight. I would say don't wait up, but I know you will, so at least take a nap or something."

I started making myself some oatmeal myself as well, only five packs today, I'd eat a big lunch.

We ate in companionable silence for a while, before dad decided to rib me a little. "So, looking forward to seeing Amy again?"

I didn't really feel like playing verbal games at the moment, so I decided to just answer him honestly. "Yup. It'll be nice to collaborate together. I'm pretty sure she has more power over biology than just healing or she wouldn't be so interested in my creatures, so it will be nice to talk shop."

"Hmm." He just gave a solemn nod. "Have fun then."

Electing to ignore his games for now, it would only encourage him after all, I washed out my bowl then ran out to catch the bus. Arcadia was a bit further out than Winslow from our house, so it was less reasonable for me to just jog there. I totally could, easily in fact, but it would stand out.

The bus was quiet this time of morning. Even gang members tended to ignore each other on the city buses in Brockton. With the ferry out indefinitely, the bus was one of the only reasonable ways to get across town if you didn't have a car. I just rode in silence thinking about my situation.

My first two commandos would be ready tomorrow. I would have them slowly digging out the tunnel entrance over the next couple of days. They would be packing the earth as they went, so that there was a lot less chance of a cave in. Having a narrow entrance to my base was fine, preferable even for security, but it would be nice if I could walk down the tunnel and the commandos could fit with their wings tucked, and moving quadrupedaly. Even though they were designed to walk bipedaly most of the time, they could move at a comfortable lope when they were on four 'feet'.

When the bus pulled up to the front gates of Arcadia, I was looking around, spotting differences everywhere. The fact that the school even had gates was a change, it looked a little pretentious, but it kind of fit the image that Arcadia tried to give off. Students were casually making their way inside, no one looked harried or threatened. In Winslow, there was always some tension between the students wearing ABB colours and the skinheads of E88. It looked like here, if there was any tension over it, they kept it all low key and didn't involve the other students much.

Finding the office was pretty easy, it was right off the front doors. Arcadia was shaped roughly like an over inflated letter H, the two wings were four stories tall, with the middle only being two. The front doors were right in the middle of the H. The walls and windows visible from the outside of the school were practically glittering compared to Winslow. Partially that was down to budget, but it was also just because Winslow was older.

When I entered the main office, the secretary looked up. She was a kindly looking old woman, and from the first words out of her mouth I knew she was nicer than the harridan that Winslow had for a secretary. "Hello dear. Are you Taylor?" I nodded.

"Your paperwork was sent ahead. I have your testing schedule here, I'm afraid you have a couple of tests ahead of you before you can rejoin classes. There was some issue with your grades being transferred over from Winslow. Oh, and something about a gym exemption. I have your pass here."

She handed me various pieces of paperwork, including my gym exemption, to be signed by my father. I looked over my testing schedule. Looked like all of today and most of tomorrow would be taken up with placement tests, but I would get the rest of Tuesday off as they decided on my class schedule. Wednesday would be my first real day of classes. Thanking her, I headed to the small room that I would be tested in for my placements. I just beat the teacher there.

She gave an introductory speech that I could tell had been slightly rehearsed, she probably had this job with some regularity. She was pretty young for a teacher, so my guess was that she didn't have a permanent position at the school yet.

"Hello. Welcome to Arcadia. Today we will be testing your aptitude in various subjects, through a series of standardized tests..."

I kept polite attentiveness on my face, but I largely tuned out the rest of what she had to say. In the meantime I was deciding how well to do on the tests. I was reasonably sure I could get one hundred percent on everything except the ones with subjective marking, like essays, even without tapping in to the internet. I just had too much background knowledge these days for the testing to pose any difficulty.

Ultimately, I just decided to fill out whatever looked like the right answers without really thinking about it. If I got suspiciously high marks, it wouldn't be a problem because the school administration was in contact with the PRT and they would smooth over any problems.

Other than grabbing a drink part way through, I just ignored the bells as they signified class changes until my teacher caught my attention to let me know that it was lunchtime. I handed over my partially completed test and headed to the cafeteria.

It was interesting. I heard from the grumbles of the other students that a Faraday cage blocked out all cell phone reception except at lunchtime, but my swarm sense was totally unaffected. Not that I expected it to be blocked, I understood enough about the mechanism to know that my signal was pretty much unblockable except for by some very strange parahuman powers.

So far as I could understand it, the signals were propagated on a psychic wavelength. An incredibly wide-band connection that had many orders of magnitude more space on it than I was currently using. Due to the partially fractal nature of the signals themselves, I'm not actually sure it was _possible_ to saturate the bandwidth in that manner.

One of the reasons I had been very careful to describe my control over my creatures as remote control was that everyone in the world _knew_ that psychic parahumans were impossible, and the only true telepath on earth was the Simurg. No, connections to an endbringer were not something I wanted to foster in any way. If I gave subtly the wrong impression every time I described my power, that was alright with me.

Once I made my way to the cafeteria, I looked around for a seat. On my first day, it might be expected to be awkward or embarrassing. Then I saw Dennis. He was making a fool of himself waving me over to the Wards table. Of course only the Wards knew that they were all sitting together, everyone else in the school probably figured they would try to blend in a little better.

I made my way over, and sat beside Dennis at the end of the table. I couldn't help but comment on the seating arrangement. "Hey guys. You really all sit together like this? Surely people would notice."

Dennis waved me off. "Nah, if anyone has figured it out, they're polite about not telling anyone else. It's actually kind of nice, since we can talk a little more openly like this. It gets so loud in here, you can barely hear yourself talk, so I'm not too worried about being overheard."

"It's nice having people who don't ask to many questions at the table. I tried making other friends, but it's hard when you can never hang out after school, and can't give a good explanation why." Added Chris.

I looked around the cafeteria. It was pretty loud in here, and people didn't seem to be trying to overhear or anything so I suppose it was alright. They had been doing it for years after all. I was just finishing my visual circuit when I spotted Amy, looking miserable surrounded by her much more popular sister and her friends.

I decided to take pity on her. Turning to Dennis, I said "Hey, do you think I could get away with going to hang out with Amy? She looks pretty miserable over there."

He just grinned back at me. "Sure, there are thousands of students here, no one's gonna notice. Well, you might get some questions from Vicky's friends, but they won't be too pushy. Vicky is constantly badgering Amy into trying to get friends, so she won't mind. Go for it."

Wandering over towards their table, I caught Amy's eye on the way there. I'm not sure she recognized me without my armour on, so I tapped her on the shoulder when I went to introduce myself. She got wide eyes for a second, then gave me a slight nod.

"Hi Amy, it's Taylor. We spoke the other day?"

I was feeling a building mental pressure coming from the other side of Amy, but it was pretty easy to ignore. I assumed that it was Glory Girl's emotion influencing aura. So as to not look suspicious for managing to tune out something that would normally be very distracting, I turned to look at her. She had an expectant look on her face, I guess she wasn't used to getting ignored in favour of her sister. I guess that's why she was turning the aura up so high. Several students were staring.

"And you must be Vicky right?" I asked politely.

She smiled winningly at me. "Yup. And you said you're Taylor?" She appeared to think for a moment, then she had a moment of realization about my likely identity, and she grinned even wider.

"Oh, you're _that_ Taylor. My sister hasn't shut up about you since you met. You must've made quite an impression."

Amy just elbowed her sister, she was developing quite a blush again. "Vicky!"

Vicky was totally unrepentant. "Oh come on Ames, you went out on Saturday just on the off chance you would bump in to her. I normally have to badger you all week to get you to go out to the boardwalk."

Amy couldn't decide whether she should be furious or mortified, and just sort of sat there in glowing indecision.

Vicky's smile couldn't possibly get any wider at this point. "Well, at least I finally know why all those double dates I set up for you were flops. Ha!"

Amy's response was totally unintelligible, even to my enhanced hearing. I decided to butt in before Amy spontaneously combusted.

I interrupted Vicky's next line of ribbing for her sister, whatever she was about to say. "Hey Vicky, we just met the other day, lay off a bit will you? I don't want to be the reason your sister smothers you in your bed at night."

Vicky finally looked a little contrite, and Amy was practically neon at this point, she certainly wasn't going to be saying anything in her own defense. I decided to distract her by brushing my ankle up against hers. The skin contact immediately activated her power, allowing her to examine my body down to the genetic level. It also had the immediate effect of centering her, totally wiping the embarrassment off her face. She took a second to glare at her sister, before opting to ignore her for the rest of the meal. She turned to me and started talking quietly.

"Hey, thanks for that. Once Vicky gets going, she just doesn't stop short of an act of God. I know you mentioned collaborating on Saturday, do you want to get together at some point to do that properly? Since my sister is going to make fun of me either way, I see no reason not to at least take advantage of the situation. I never get a chance to do anything creative with my power and it's slowly driving me up the wall." With that off her chest, she took a deep breath.

Looking a lot calmer now, she continued. "We probably shouldn't talk shop in school too much, but we can talk about whatever else."

I nodded along, then figured I'd introduce myself properly. "Hi, I'm Taylor. My mother was an English teacher, so that's probably my favourite subject. Have you read any good books lately? I'm always looking for new ones..."


	26. 4-3

4.3  
o0O0o0O0o

Amy ended up agreeing to meet up in costume on Saturday to try working on a project. She looked like she was even more excited about it more than I was. It also made me consider the whole Amy situation. It didn't take me more than a few minutes of reflection to figure out what dad had been laughing about when we had met up on Saturday. I wasn't entirely sure what to think about it. I hadn't really had the opportunity to think about romance before gaining powers, and now, the idea would be _complicated._

I didn't really have any problems with it per se. The considerations of a single body these days were so unimportant that I could easily see forming attachments to pretty much anyone who interested me enough mentally. But that was part of the problem. A relationship between a single body of my swarm and another person would be a very unequal relationship. After mulling the problem over for a while, I decided that anyone I was legitimately interested in pursuing a relationship with would have to be told about my true nature. It also meant that I would need to trust them a great deal before ever beginning the relationship since that information would be very damaging to me if it ever got out. But enough dwelling on problems.

Testing went well after lunch. Since most of them were timed tests, I didn't get an opportunity to finish them early, even though I filled out all the questions in half the time. The joys of standardization I guess. When I finished my last one for the day, I was in a rush to get home. I was looking forward to my first real patrol despite the fact that I knew from following the Wards around that patrols were mostly calm. The Protectorate patrols got a little more exciting, but so far, I hadn't needed to intervene in any of their fights since I started shadowing them. The local Protectorate members were quite competent.

As soon as I made it home, I scrawled off a note to my father and went in to the basement to get my armour on. I ran all the way to the PRT headquarters, grinning the whole way. It might not mean much in the grand scheme of things, but this was going to be my first outing as an _official_ hero.

Turning visible about a minute away from my destination, I enjoyed seeing the looks of recognition on peoples faces. It was nice getting approving glances and the occasional photo snapped. Going through the front door, I waved my still new Wards phone in front of the elevators, allowing me access. When I got to the Wards room, I held my face up to the scanner and spoke my name. After a second to process it, the door opened with a click.

Missy was sitting on the couch, already half armoured. She had her visor sitting off to the side as she watched cartoons. When she heard me come in, she quickly turned the cartoons off, embarrassed. "Hi Taylor. I didn't know anyone else would be here so soon after school. It usually takes the guys a while longer to get here. You're on patrol with me and Aegis today right?"

Opening my helmet for slightly more human conversation, I replied. "Yeah. Do you guys often do patrols with three Wards? I haven't seen it yet."

She shook her head, blonde hair flying everywhere. "Nah, that's just 'cause we're showing you the ropes. It would mess the schedule up if we needed two thirds of us here just to run normal patrols. We usually rotate so that everyone has three patrols per week, two on weekdays and one on the weekend. With two on patrol and one on console, only half of us need to be here to run patrols, so it works out to have a patrol from _somebody_ almost every day of the week."

Nodding, I went over to the couch and turned on the TV. Missy blushed slightly at the slightly juvenile cartoons, but I figured she wouldn't mind the excuse to keep watching them if _I_ was the one to turn them on.

I asked a bit about the upcoming patrol while we waited for Aegis to show up. Turns out we would be taking a safe route, mostly just to teach me the protocol. Missy didn't think we would run in to any trouble, especially since the area by the boardwalk wasn't really claimed by any of the gangs, but you could never entirely predict the Merchants.

When Carlos got here and got dressed, Missy stuck her helmet on and we were ready to go. Carlos was explaining the usual procedure over the radio while we left the building via the front entrance. I had a swooper and a runner discretely follow us while invisible.

"First things first, we radio the console to let them know that we are beginning our patrol. 'Aegis to console, this is Aegis, Vista, and Hive, beginning patrol.'"

"Console acknowledges." Replied Chris' voice.

Aegis continued. "On the routes that start further away from base, we'll usually ride a PRT transport to the start of the route unless it's just me and Kid Win, since we can both fly."

"Well, I sometimes just walk, but I cheat." Vista butted in, grinning. "Speaking of which, want to come with me on the rooftops? It's fun, I promise."

I nodded, may as well get the full experience. With a slightly eye watering _stretch_ , the nearest rooftop was suddenly close enough for us to step on to, while still being at the top of the building across the street. Aegis took to the air while Vista and I started walking along the rooftops. Every time we got close to the edge, she would stretch the rooftops together so we could continue on as though we were walking on a level surface.

From the air, Aegis was pointing out things on the street level. "When we're doing the safer routes like this, we usually try to be seen, and sometimes stop to do things like give autographs. The more dangerous routes we tend to try to hang back a little more, looking for trouble. The things you're actually looking for are the same either way. We're listening for gunfire, breaking glass, screams, that sort of thing. If you smell smoke or see someone running, they are also cues to investigate. As soon as you notice something out of place, you let your teammates know, then radio it in."

We continued in silence down the boardwalk, before turning off to go deeper in to the city.

It was about ten minutes later when something odd happened. I could sense a large vehicle approaching with echolocation, but there was nothing visible. I decided that it warranted letting my teammates know.

"Hey Aegis! There's an invisible vehicle approaching from the North. What do you want me to do?"

He turned to look down the road, squinting to see if he could somehow detect it. "It's probably one of Squealer's drug running vehicles. Can you disable it safely?"

Instead of answering him, I had my invisible runner take aim at where the truck was moving and launched my vehicle net at it.

'Thwoomp.'

Immediately, the net disappeared from view, but I could tell that it had done it's job of tangling the vehicles tires, because black streaks on the pavement appeared where the wheels had spun out. I ran my runner at the front end of the vehicle and punched the hood as hard as I could, leaving a huge dent and causing the invisibility effect to fizzle out. The engine also started giving off alarming amounts of smoke.

Aegis was calling it in. "Console, Squealer's invisible vehicle disabled on 4th and main. Skidmark spotted, two unpowered- Get Down!" He screamed.

The two unpowered Merchants in the back of the pickup were bound up in the net, but the two that had piled out of the truck with Skidmark had both climbed out with beefy machine guns with huge drum mags. They opened fire with a huge racket while Skidmark started laying down his boosting fields in front of them, making the bullets whine past even faster. Me and Vista were under cover of the corner of the roof, with much of the wall in front of us bent up to also be between us and the very large guns. Being in the air, Aegis had already been hit at least twice, but he managed to dive behind a large rooftop air conditioning unit.

I tried shooting nets at the ones with guns, but they were deflected enough by the boosting fields that they snagged uselessly on the truck. Skidmark appeared to be swearing up a storm like usual. He was yelling in to a cellphone, but was totally inaudible over the roar of the guns.

"This is console. Orders are to disengage and wait for backup."

All three of us started creeping away from the truck, and the bullets started coming our way a little less frequently. My runner could see the barrels of their guns steaming while my swooper made it's way to the other side of the Merchants to launch nets from that angle.

I looked over to Aegis for a reply, but he had a throat wound from one of the bullets. It didn't appear to be causing him any trouble other than the fact that he couldn't talk at the moment. When me and Vista realized that he wouldn't be talking, mission control technically switched over to Vista, who replied to console.

"This is Vista. We're back out of range and Hive is bothering them with her creatures. Aegis has a throat wound and will be unable to talk for the duration of the mission." She spoke in a no nonsense voice, inflection gone from her normally bubbly speech.

I got one of the Merchants with a net, but Skidmark was considerably faster on the uptake than I was expecting and managed to lay down a field to deflect the second shot. Even as the swooper dove to get a better angle, Skidmark laid down a third field, roughly covering his small group in a triangle of fields facing outwards.

"Shit-sucking cunt muffins won't get me that easy! Come get me you rotten ass wounds!" Floated Skidmark's distinctive voice. I flew the swooper a little higher, hoping to get a shot over the field's effect, but another deflected shot proved that they extended up quite far.

Just as I was contemplating what to do next, two heavily modified cars screeched around the corner and squealed to a stop by Skidmark. Skidmark gave two great tugs at one of crates in the bed of the truck, before giving up and swearing viciously.

I wasn't sitting idly by though. I fired my other vehicle net at one of the cars, and stuck two doors and one wheel on the other one with regular nets.

Since the other two couldn't see what was happening, I relayed what was happening. "Hive to console, two more vehicles showed up with more Merchants. I've got two of three vehicles stuck, but the Merchants are shooting up the place.

They were firing wildly, trying to hit either of my creatures. Either not knowing or not caring that the smaller guns that they were using didn't have much hope of actually hurting one, unlike the boosted big guns from earlier.

"Console acknowledges. Try to avoid further injury and wait for backup."

Three more merchants went down to nets, but I was starting to run out and I really hoped to bag Skidmark before they got a chance to run away. Skidmark was already doing a running retreat to the last working vehicle, shoving one of his merchants out of the way to get to the car.

"Most Merchants down and bagged, several trying to escape in the last remaining vehicle." I added, trying to sum up the running battle in as few words as possible.

He was laying fields behind him as he ran, so I missed with two of my last three nets, but I finally managed to get his legs with my last one. I was just about to cry out in triumph when he wiggled out of his pants and finished the run to the car. Burning rubber with three wheels, while the fourth one had a net on it that stuck it in place. My runner was leaping to slam in to the hood when the wheel finally tore a chunk of the wheel well off, spraying plastic bits everywhere but allowing the car to drive.

My runner crumpled the rear of the roof of the car, but tumbled off the back as Skidmark started accelerating wildly with the car belching flame and smoke out of it's tail pipes.

"I'll get you ass-licking donkey fuckers back for this!" Screamed Skidmark as his car pulled away.

Console decided that now would be the time to pipe up. "Remain on scene and disarm any immobilized gang members, do not pursue, I repeat, do not pursue."

With that instruction given, Vista started bending space again to get back to the ground while Aegis just flew down. They started grabbing guns out of ganger's hands as I made sure that the one big gun we had captured was staying down. A few of the Merchants had escaped, but we had captured two of Squealer's modified vehicles as well as several gang members. I was thinking that was it, when I noticed one of the boxes that had been smashed by gunfire in the back of the truck that Skidmark was driving in.

It looked like they were smuggling close to half a ton of cocaine in to a stash house with the invisible truck. No wonder Skidmark brought out the big guns immediately. This was millions of dollars worth of drugs.

Some PRT vans arrived less than a minute later. The troopers swarming out and making sure that everyone was disarmed and bound, before starting to secure the scene.

One of the men called for wagons to come and pick up the gang members while the rest were still focusing on making sure everything was safe. One of them walked over.

"Hey Hive. Good job finding one of Squealer's cloaked vehicles. The higher ups might take issue with taking action without checking first, but I appreciate it. My cousin was killed by some of that Merchant crap they call drugs. Looks like you just took a lot off the street." He nodded to me with respect, before walking back to his post.

Odd source of recognition, but I would take it. Overall I was pretty happy with my first day out. I knew that it would take forever to get through all the debriefing, but for getting this amount of crap off the street, I would gladly do it twice over.

Hopefully, with so much of their product missing, some of the Merchants could get clean a little easier and the gang would calm down a little. I could always hope.


	27. 4-4

4.4  
o0O0o0O0o

I was right that the debriefing was a long one. I was actually commended for my actions _once the fight had started_. The main point of contention had been the fact that I had fired at the truck at all without clearing it with our superiors. Aegis was trying to back me up as much as he could, but he was reduced to writing responses on paper since his throat was still out of commission. Piggot took ruthless advantage of that fact to bulldoze past his objections that I had cleared it with him.

Piggot just played the radio logs, showing that we never received the go ahead to take down the vehicle. When I tried to explain that the truck could have gotten away, she objected to that too.

"The Wards are not cleared to take independent action against supervillains, Hive. At most, you may react with a delaying action or retreat when faced with one unexpectedly unless there is a clear threat to human life. The fact that they would have gotten away is irrelevant. The Youth Guard have enough issues with the fact that Wards are cleared for unsupervised patrols to begin with, we do not need you taunting them with attacking villains of your own impetus. Is that clear?" She made it very clear with her tone that this was not a question with more than one possible answer.

"Yes director."

She gave a crisp nod at my response. "Good. Now, Aegis has indicated that he will likely be mostly healed by time school rolls around tomorrow so the only remaining issue is your patrols for the foreseeable future. All three of you are off patrols until the Youth Guard have had a chance to review the situation and decide if they want to slap any _sanctions_ on us. Based on their previous turn around time, expect to be sidelined until the weekend at the earliest. You are all dismissed."

We trudged back to the Wards common area, Vista finally breaking the silence when we got through the door. "Well that sucked. Still, thanks for doing it Taylor. That was way more bullets than I wanted to deal with, but we did a lot of good."

Aegis nodded and tried to work his partially healed throat with an affirmatory sounding gurgle.

Vista just winced at the sound. "Carlos, please leave off with trying to talk until you can breathe properly. Remember the time with your jaw injury? Let's not repeat that."

Carlos just hung his head. Everyone else had left already, so the other two went to their rooms to get changed while I prepared to head home. I spotted some of Chris' tools lying on the counter, but decided to leave them there. Chris had been getting increasingly agitated about his lack of success with his kinetic shield idea. It had been almost a week now, and he hadn't managed much more than taking his hoverboard apart on two separate occasions before realizing that whatever idea he had wasn't going to work.

I was afraid of bring it up with him, but I think that my original guess of specialty was wrong. He seemed determined to try to make it work though. His lack of specialty was probably even more painful now, with a concrete goal to work towards, since he couldn't seem to make it work properly. Coming up with another idea for him to work towards was becoming a higher priority for me. Maybe if I could come up with two or three ideas, I could convince him that we were still just brainstorming, and so failure to make _one_ of the ideas work was _expected_ , not a failure.

My plan was to come up with at least one other really solid idea and at least two passable ones for him to try. We'll see how many I can come up with tonight.

o0O0o

The week was flowing swiftly by. I was still off patrols, but I followed my teammates and the Protectorate members around with invisible critters anyway. I would ask for forgiveness if it ever turned out to be necessary. It was looking more and more like my weekend would be a busy one. Probably Saturday with Amy, then my next patrol on Sunday.

Chris had taken my new ideas just like I had hoped. Now that he had more than one thought to latch on to, he wasn't so desperate to make his shield idea work and he could admit that it wasn't going anywhere. We had also ruled out 'interfaces' for his specialty, but he at least made progress on some of his projects, so it held a piece of the puzzle. This weekend he was going be testing 'transitions'. We would work on coming up with new ideas if that one didn't work.

It was late Wednesday night, or early Thursday I suppose, and I was lying in bed contemplating the strength of a bonesword. To every external appearance I was asleep, when the endbringer alarms gave a brief wail. Not a local attack then. School and most businesses would be closed tomorrow.

I was instantly on high alert, readying my creatures until I decided what to do about the attack. Looking up the information available online garnered me the fact that the Simurgh was attacking Canberra Australia, the country's capital. I got the same alert from the Wards phone on my bedside table a second later.

My first two commandos stretched themselves underwater in my base, ready for action. I had them start climbing out while I read online what the procedure was for independent heroes joining in an endbringer fight. I wouldn't bring both, but since I had worldwide communication available with my commandos, I would at least send one of them. It wouldn't be too big of a loss if it died, but I would be able to get my first taste of an endbringer fight.

Then I had a thought. What if I bring my planter? I would be sending my commando as an invisible independent hero anyway, no sense in letting the PRT know that their Ward was participating in an endbringer fight half way around the world. With one invisible 'hero' already included in the teleport to Australia, I would probably get the chance to sneak a second along. Even if my commando died, I could just send the planter with the instructions to make a long range relay first, then a base, then start pumping out nodes and a beacon. This could be an opportunity to jump start a base on the other side of the world. A brief delay here in Brockton Bay, while I regrew another planter, but that was trivial compared to getting a head start on my plans around the world.

The best part was, since this was a fight with the Simurgh, they would be totally quarantining the city afterwards. For most people that would be a horrible travesty of course, they would be trapped in there for the rest of their lives, likely. But for me, it was almost perfect. They had already decided years ago not to allow monitoring of the inside of the quarantine zones, after the third person set to that task went on a murderous rampage. It seemed like the Simurgh's effect of turning people into Rube Goldberg time-bombs worked just fine even if you were one step removed from her direct influence. This meant that I would be able to help the people of the city, as well as build up with impunity, since no information about my actions would ever make it beyond the city's new walls.

I had a very slight worry about her potential effect on me, and I would be considerably more cautious if I found out that her 'scream' affected me as much as everyone else, but if I was as resistant to her effects as other Masters, this would be a great opportunity for me.

One commando and the planter made their way over to the staging area in front of the PRT headquarters, both invisible. I was one of the first ones there, although I could see members of New Wave flying this way. Lady Photon was carrying Amy in her arms. Panacea always showed up to endbringer fights, to help heal up the capes that could make it back to medical to be patched up.

When Miss Militia arrived and looked around at who was present, she started talking. "Thank you all for coming. Since it looks like you are all regulars, I'll skip-"

I interrupted her with my commando, speaking in a man's baritone. "Excuse me, I would like to help as well."

Everyone turned to face the space where my creatures were standing, Miss Militia's pistol at her hip briefly flashing green, changing into a shotgun in her hands before she gained control of herself once again, sending her weapon back to a holster.

She spoke cautiously. "May I ask who I'm speaking to? And can you make yourself visible so we can talk?"

"I'm Invisible Man, and I'm sorry to say that I am not capable of turning visible at this time, to change states I must charge for several hours and I don't want to be stuck visible during the fight with the Simurgh." I invented the excuse on the fly, but it seemed to satisfy her, powers often had strange or arbitrary restrictions like that.

She looked a little friendlier now at least. "Thank you for coming, is this your first endbringer fight?"

I almost nodded before realizing the futility of it, so instead I gave a verbal answer. "Yes. I was hoping to participate in search and rescue. In addition to being invisible, I am capable of flight. Mover five or six maybe?"

Brandish spoke up from the side. "And you don't have any experience with endbringer fights? Do you know what you're getting in to. Especially with the Simurgh?"

That was a fair question, so I tried to reassure her. "Yes, I've read up a fair amount on the procedures, but if you don't mind teaching me a little bit, I would appreciate the information. If we have time before our transport arrives of course..."

She laughed in what could be charitably called a good-natured manner. A cynic would probably say she was laughing at my naivety. "You really are new aren't you? Yes we've got time. For non local independents, we're pretty far down the list of priority for the teleporters, although having Panacea with us usually means that we get a ride before the fight is half way over. You say you can fly, can you fly at speed while carrying someone? You do know about the requirement to get out of the Simurgh's range correct?"

"Yes, and yes. I should be capable of it without strain, and I know that you are required to limit your exposure to her 'song', although the internet is a little bit unclear on what happens if you go over the exposure window."

That prompted a bitter laugh. "That's because it's bad PR to let civilians know that we blow our own people up if they can't make it back in time. 'Better dead than working against us' after all. Your wristband will keep track of your exposure as well as contain the explosive for if you fail to get back in time. And don't think about trying to just take it off, not only will that cause it to detonate if you do it improperly, you won't be allowed back outside of the quarantine zone unless you have it with you."

It sounded like she was trying to discourage me from coming, but I could understand her caution about letting someone unaware of the realities of the situation in to an endbringer fight.

"I understand. I still wish to help out." I got a grudging nod at that.

"As you say."

Brandish was turning back New Wave, when a teleporter sporting a jaunty costume appeared in our midst.

"This everyone?" They asked, abrupt. They were already raising their arms, preparing to teleport again.

Miss Militia pointed in my direction and I huddled my creatures close together to try to maximize the chance of taking both of my bodies.

"Our invisible friend there would like to come too." Said Miss Militia, loud enough to get his attention, and draw his eye to where she was pointing at me.

"Eh? Alright. Here we go!" He raised his arms again and suddenly middle of the night turned to early afternoon. He stumbled as we arrived. "Christ, you're a heavy fucker."

Shaking his head he just disappeared to pick up the next people. So it seems that my long range relay worked at least. I looked around us. It was absolute chaos.

Capes were zipping back and forth over head, flashes of light going off in the distance.

A large tent had been erected off to one side of the field we were in. It looked like the medical triage center, my guess being confirmed when Panacea headed off in that direction immediately.

Hulking military trucks were unloading troops and sections of temporary fencing with razor wire already built in. Troops were trying to form a perimeter around the city, since it was already over the safe exposure limit. Everyone still left inside would be staying there.

A line of soldiers were guarding the road out of town, the commander shouting on a megaphone for the civilians still trying to flee that they should turn around and seek safety in the city.

Some listened. Others did not, and were gunned down by the soldiers.

I headed over to a crowd of capes that were listening to one of the Protectorate heroes giving them instructions.

"You will be in the next replacement wave. Remember your exposure above all else, your wristband will have a constantly updating display counting down, do **not** let that display reach zero, do **not** remove your wristbands, and do **not** forget to allow time for you to get back to safety as well." They were gesturing wildly, trying to emphasize the importance of following the rules during this fight.

"Those of you focusing on search and rescue, time is of the essence, focus on moving quickly. Injuries can be taken care of once you get back to safety. Those of you with mover and blaster powers, remember that she will likely anticipate your attacks, try to attack her from as many angles as possible. If at all possible, target the tinker tech device she is constructing by the remains of the university. Every time we have successfully destroyed her devices, she has retreated soon after and we do not want to know what this one will do. Your time starts when you move over the cordon, good luck!"

With that, the capes moved off, some flying, some teleporting, and some running faster than usually possible. The next group was already moving up to accept their wristbands, New Wave among them. I suppose I should theoretically go up there as well, but if my invisibility worked on the Simurgh, I didn't want to ruin my chances by wearing a visible wristband. Instead, I opened my wings and started flying silently in the direction of all the fighting. I didn't know If I would be able to hurt the Simurgh, but I knew that I was going to find out soon.


	28. 4-5

4.5  
o0O0o0O0o

I flew towards the obvious signs of fighting in the distance, silent and invisible. There were some other capes in the air, but the main signs for where to go were the bright flashes of attacks and the floating buildings held in the air by the Simurgh's telekenetic grip. I could see people running mad in the streets. These were the ones the worst affected by the Simurgh's psychic screams, totally lost to all rational thought.

Speaking of which. I could hear literal screams of people in the streets, in terror or anger, but nothing in my head. I could taste/feel/see/sense the _pressure_ in the air, coming from the worst of the fighting, but it felt like it was _missing_ me somehow. I was a radio tuned to the wrong frequency, or motorcycle driving between the lanes of blocked traffic. It was difficult to put in to words, but I could intuitively understand that the psychic effect that she was using, and the one that I relied on were somehow orthogonal to each other, perpendicular, yet not touching. Separated by a dimension that didn't have a name.

I also knew that I could modify my signal to make a _receiver_ that used her frequency directly, that would hear her scream clearer than any human ever had, aligned with it directly instead of by haphazard average like human brains were. If most humans were doing the mental equivalent of looking with their eyes, I knew intuitively how to build a telescope. I could think of no reason why I would want to, but it was interesting that I even knew how. Even more scary was that I could also build _broadcasters_.

It was like a caveman knowing how to build a rocket but lacking the tools, it wasn't the fact that he couldn't build a rocket that was interesting, it was the fact that _he knew how_. It was knowledge that was so out of place, it was conspicuous. So far as I knew, no other cape knew the first thing about how the Simurgh's scream worked, but if I was reading this right, I was practically an expert because I knew how to do it myself. The implications were disturbing. I was slowly coming to the conclusion that I was _not_ like other parahumans in some hard to define way.

It was an issue I could ponder later, the fighting was finally coming in to range.

The Simurgh herself was a fifteen foot alabaster statue of a woman who was given wings by some insane god that didn't understand symmetry or possibly even geometry. They stuck out of her at all angles, some from the joints of other wings that themselves had smaller wings on them. For all that she was shaped like a woman, she was all the creepier for the resemblance because her inhumanity was also clearly evident for all to see.

The machine she was building was a swirling ball of complex layers, slowly assembling into something greater. The outer layers were mostly rough materials, and each subsequent layer closer to the middle of the sphere grew steadily more complex. The middle was practically a haze of tiny, delicate components and blinking lights.

Capes were flitting around her, trying to blast her or the machine she was slowly assembling in her telekinetic grip. It was immediately apparent that she could see their moves coming a dozen steps in advance.

I watched as she knocked a cape out of the air to deflect a shot from another, stronger attack. The cape in question was killed, but it also deflected the attack in to an apartment building. Just as Legend flew up to unleash a great barrage of lasers at her creation, the apartment building finally gave way, just in time to fall in the way of the attack and crush a cape that had been advancing along the street towards her.

It was like watching a parent patiently trying to teach an infant how to play chess, occasionally admonishing them for trying to chew on the pieces.

Very occasionally an attack would seemingly make it past an outstretched wing to clip the edge of what she was building, only for it to strike at just the right angle to break the component along a clean line, and the now smaller component would fit together with another seemingly random broken piece, then move a layer further inwards on the sphere. She was literally using the attacks against her to help assemble whatever she was building.

I winged my way closer hoping for a good shot at something, fully aware of the fact that I might only get one. She might not be able to see me, or at least she was opting to ignore me for now, but I had no illusions that she would allow me to continue to fire my venom cannon at her with impunity.

As she tossed another office building at a group of heroes I decided that I would fire my first shot at the middle of her creation, see if I could use some of the armour penetrating capability of the gun to penetrate down to a semi-complex layer of the thing, which would be more damage than anyone else had managed to do so far.

I hovered as close as I dared, then loaded an exotic crystal round with the most corrosive toxins I could produce steeped through it. This stuff would not just punch a hole through steel, it would eat the steel away where it traveled as well. My only hope was that it could do enough damage to stop whatever she was building. I took careful aim and fired.

' **Crack**.'

The sound of the round going instantly supersonic was very noticeable, despite the near silence of the gun itself. The hyper-sonic quasi-crystal shard punched clean through the entire creation, fractally shedding smaller shards as it penetrated layers, taking the entire center of the sphere with it. Even as the toxins began to eat away at the components, the entire mass crashed to the ground, no longer supported by the Simurgh's grip.

Frantically loading a second shot, I was hoping to shoot her in the chest before she had a chance to react, but I underestimated her. The air filled with millions, no, billions of pieces of debris which started to swirl around her suddenly inhumanly angry visage.

I was stunned as I saw entire buildings pulled apart down to individual bricks in the greatest display of telekinesis the world had ever seen. I knew I was in trouble when the first brick that I couldn't dodge hit me in the side, traveling at high speed. The brick crumbling on my armour didn't hurt, but the fact that the Simurgh instantly turned to face me made me realize that I now had her entire attention. I frantically backpedaled in the air even as I shot her with my second round.

' **Crack**.'

Direct hit, but she wasn't even slowed by the oozing chest wound that I had just applied. Instead she was focusing on filling the air with lethal debris.

 _Oh shit!_ She just threw a building at me. I banked as hard as possible, wind screaming over my wings as the building sailed through the air behind me. The Simurgh was advancing on my position, the air around me growing ever more dense with debris as she narrowed down my location.

I dodged a second building by the skin of my teeth, while the rest of the heroes were starting to attack her now exposed back. I'm not sure the Simurgh had ever been wide open like this before, but the heroes were certainly making the best possible use of it.

If I could just delay long enough, the heroes could damage her enough to flee, or she would leave a while after her creation had failed.

I had to go low to avoid a thrown bus, only to realize it was a trap when I flew over what I thought was an iron fence, but was actually a row of rebar that she had torn out of buildings then held in place for me to get close enough while in contact with one of the flying bricks.

The steel rods accelerated madly towards me and I managed to dodge most, but not all of them. Two spent themselves uselessly on my armour, crumpling as they did so, but one found my right wing and tore a hole clean through it.

I staggered in the air, fighting for altitude for a moment. Then what felt like the hammer of God came down from above, smashing me in to the ground. If the effects on the landscape were anything to go by the Simurgh had just applied massive telekenetic force straight downwards, smashing everything in the area flat. Cars crumpled and buildings collapsed.

As soon as I could stand, I leapt in to the air and climbed as hard as I could. Maybe I could better avoid her traps if I was further away from so much debris. For several blessed seconds, I managed to dodge all the bricks in the air, allowing me time to gain height as she searched for me.

The rest of the heroes were not standing idly by. Eidolon was using some great whirling green drill made of energy and Legend was blasting her face with lasers. Alexandria was making runs at her unprotected back, trying to knock her off course. Already I could see countless feathers blackened and cracked, some even torn out or destroyed entirely. I even saw an entire small wing that had been blasted off by the sustained fire of the heroes on the ground behind her.

With wings working at maximum power, I climbed madly. Every time I touched a brick, thrown cars would sail through the space I had just been occupying. Eventually my luck ran out. A bus coming from an angle I didn't see hit me square in the back, cracking my carapace an dragging me with it in a parabolic arc.

I could tell the instant it hit that my left wing was totally shattered, but I was still stuck to the front of a bus, moving up. Soon, it would begin to fall again. Thinking furiously, I had an idea. It seemed that I wouldn't be able to escape her this way, but perhaps I could hide. Even as the buss turned weightless at the top of its arc, I managed to crawl in through the smashed front window, dragging my left wing behind me as I ripped two of the rows of seats out of the floor to make room for my large body. I piled them back on top of myself and braced for the impact of the bus coming back down.

The crash was stupefying. Despite my creatures' resistance to g-forces, it still knocked me silly and shattered my lower legs, which I was using to brace myself. I just focused everything on keeping the seats held still above me as bricks continued to pelt everything in some mad cross between a hailstorm, an exploded masonry factory, and a hurricane from hell.

The bricks continued for a seeming eternity before the sounds of fighting finally started to fade and the bricks stopped crashing in to everything.

Then, silence.

All the more profound for how loud it had been moments before.

I was alive, if only barely. My left wing was useless and my legs were shattered, and it would take days to heal to the point that I would be able to do anything but crawl, but I had lived. And destroyed the Simurgh's creation, which probably saved a lot of lives, even if they would still be stuck in a quarantine zone.

With my adrenal organs spooling down production, I finally had a chance to focus on something other than just survival. The planter was basically unharmed, it had hung out on the edge of my range, outside of the Simurg's 'detection net'. It had watched as the Simurgh flew off, looking more damaged than I had ever seen her.

With the threat gone I directed the planter to start immediately with placing seeds for a long range relay, as well as a base to grow more creatures here. I wanted speed more than stealth now, so I would have to strategize how to maximize my output of new creatures. I only had one planter at the moment, so I would need to account for my very limited resources here before deciding how I could best help the people of Canberra survive the difficult times that were to come.

I knew that my previous rate of a few invisible creatures per month was going to be totally inadequate for helping police an area that had tens of thousands of self destructively crazy people in it. Even if the majority of Canberra's 350,000 citizens were still alive and rational, even if only one percent were totally crazy from the Simurgh's presence, there would still be thousands of people that needed to be dealt with in order to protect the sane ones in the city from the rest.

That was perhaps the worst facet of the Simurgh, there was no way to tell how many of the people in the cities she left quarantined were totally innocent, and would just do their best to move on in life, and how many were the world's most dangerous sleeper agents. If the number of dangerous people was anywhere close to one hundred percent, then perhaps quarantining them all would feel more justified, but as it stood, dozens, or even hundreds of thousands of people were going to be condemned to unjust imprisonment because it was too dangerous to let them free.

Well not if I could help it.

I couldn't let them free, but I could do the next best thing. I would build up my numbers a quickly as possible, then focus on maintaining law and order over the first couple of weeks. Then I could switch to helping the community heal as much as possible, building up the structures of civilization once more. I could do things like help ensure that the food that was brought to the containment zone would be distributed as fairly as possible. People outside the containment zones knew that there wasn't enough farm-able land inside the zone to keep even a fraction of the population alive after all. If they couldn't do anything else, citizens could always donate to the Simurgh containment funds that payed for food and minimal supplies to be brought regularly to the quarantine zones.

Since no one monitored the insides of the zones themselves, there was no way to know if the food was even being received or if it was rotting where it had been pushed through, but it helped ease the public consciousness about the fact that no one inside would ever be allowed out for the rest of their lives.

But now there would be someone to monitor the inside of the zone, and I would do by best to make sure that if the walls ever came down, people outside the zone would start to wonder if they were allowed to immigrate.


	29. 4-6

4.6  
o0O0o0O0o

Since we now had Thursday off school, and most villains tended to tread carefully the day of the endbringer truce, I got basically the whole day to myself. I decided to see if Amy wanted to come over to my house before Saturday to collaborate on the healing spray project. I still remembered her number from when she gave it to me the other day at lunch. She tried to be nonchalant about it by saying it was for whenever we were collaborating, but by her blush, the fact that she was literally giving me her number was not lost on her.

After two rings, she picked up. "Hey... Taylor?" She sounded dead tired.

Oh, shoot. Too late now, she had already picked up. "Hi Amy, I was gonna call about maybe getting together today. I forgot that you woke up in the middle of the night to go to an endbringer fight. Sorry about that. I'm so used to not needing sleep, sorry, didn't mean to rub it in. I'm making an ass of myself right now aren't I?"

I got a weary chuckle in response. "No it's fine. I-" She gave a jaw cracking yawn. "I was awake, I just couldn't get to sleep after I got back. Sorry I'm so out of it. You don't need sleep? That must be nice."

She sounded a little loopy, but not actually mad at me. I tried to continue without sticking my foot further down my throat. "Thanks, yeah. We can talk about it on Saturday if you want? I'm not sure how I would go about modifying someone else yet, but it would be a cool project to work on if we finish the medical spray thing."

Amy thought that over for a minute. "Hmm? Sure. I'll see you on Saturday. Well, you know, at school too, but on Saturday for real... I'm gonna try to sleep again. Thanks for calling I guess? It's nice that you thought of me even if I can't actually do anything today. Talk to you later."

"Talk to you tomorrow." I added, still feeling like a heel.

With that, she hung up.

Hmm. Now what.

I know, I could work with Chris on finding his specialty. I'm sure he was in his lab right now.

That decided, I suited up and started jogging to the PRT HQ. On the way I was thinking about Canberra.

It all comes back to time. I read the estimates, the death tole on the civilians was likely somewhere around fifty thousand people, with probably that many again that were incurably insane. That left a quarter of a million people that needed protecting and organizing. If I wanted numbers of creatures comparable to the numbers of police per capita, especially for a war-torn area, I would need anywhere from one to three thousand creatures. Ideally it would be at the higher end of the scale.

First problem: I didn't have time to grow creatures with stealth, even just basic stealth. The idea was a total non-starter.

Solution: Forgo stealth entirely, work in the open as a not quite human ally. My current idea was to use my most human template, not that that was saying much mind you, and modify it to look a lot more human. The templates were natural infiltrators and saboteurs. They even had a freaky injection system of what amounted to viral attack code in DNA form that I would be discarding. It would end up being about the size, weight, and shape of a human. Albeit one with four arms. Slightly bulbous, bald head and barbie doll lack of interesting bits to differentiate it from humans, but still human-ish.

Advantage: They could grow incredibly quickly. It would take hours for them to mature, maybe half a day all told. A single brand new base could easily pump out ten per day if it had enough raw material and energy supplied. Which brought me to my next problem.

Second problem: I didn't have time to grow creatures using sunlight. It would cripple my output. My normal method of gathering mass from atmospheric CO2 was too slow as well, so I needed materials.

Solution: Solve both materials and energy at the same time, fuel my growth with bio-matter instead of sunlight. I would be reversing my normal process, pumping out CO2 as I digested the bio-matter to generate energy. I estimated it would take about ten times as much mass going in as I would get out, but I wouldn't be limited by energy or materials any more, I would be limited by how fast I could build the bases with digestion pools.

Downside: It would be grisly, and nasty, but I needed the bio-matter. I would be fueling my growth on the corpses lying around in the open. I couldn't afford to be squeamish about it if I wanted to save lives.

Advantage: It would deal with most of the disease problem that would crop up if no one dealt with the bodies, at least this way they would be doing something useful instead.

Third problem: I didn't have time to grow a network in the area, at least not fast enough to make a difference. They were already putting more permanent fencing in place in a rough oval around Canberra. Forty kilometers across at the widest, twenty at the narrowest. That was more than six hundred square kilometers that I needed network in, and I only had one planter.

Solution: Fortuitously, as infiltrators and saboteurs, the templates I was looking at using had to operate without access to the network under usual conditions. Each of them acted as a booster for any local signal. It wouldn't help control other templates, but if you had a network of nothing but infiltrators, they could sustain a signal over quite a distance by themselves. I just needed to tweak their instincts and knowledge to be much more human. I would eventually have so many of them that it would start to seriously impact how I thought if they were non-human. So each one would be getting a slightly modified copy of my own original brain and mind, so even if they were separated from the network, they could interact with humans properly.

Advantage: Since they would be so close to human, even outside of the network, I could pass myself off as a monster cape who had the ability to create more of herself. That would neatly cover my reason for being there as well, people in a quarantine zone would understand better than anyone else what it meant to be too dangerous to be let out in to society, and self-replication fell firmly under that umbrella.

Now, there were a couple of potential issues with this plan. First and foremost would be that I needed people to trust the creepy bald hivemind monster. I'm _pretty_ sure that they would, once they could see that I was helping, but if they didn't, I might just end up fighting a losing battle to help people that were trying to kill me.

The other main issue was that if it ever got out that I was doing this, it would be capital b, Bad. Immediate kill order for me, hooray. I doubt that they would care that it wasn't _technically_ self-replication. So I would need to make sure that my cover story was a strong as possible. Unfortunately it also meant that I would need to be very subtle about using any bio-manipulation to help people out, unless I was absolutely sure that it couldn't come back to bite me. I know that the Simurgh containment zones _technically_ didn't get monitored like that, but I would be trusting a lot to that fact.

Regardless of the potential issues, I think I had a plan. The template was designed already, that was increasingly easy with my increased brainpower. Now I just had to wait for the first base to be ready in Canberra in a couple of days. Mustn't let the cart get to far ahead of the course after all.

That done, I decided to look up what the internet thought of the Canberra fight last night.

From the look of it, I was the talk of the town. Someone in our little teleportation party had let slip that there was a cape called Invisible Man that was coming to his first Simurgh fight. Combined with Strider's comment that I was heavy, it was assumed that Invisible Man was a tinker that wore power armour and focused entirely on being non-detectable.

The loss of potentially Simurgh-proof Stranger tech was lamented, but Invisible Man was seen as a hero for sacrificing his life in order to destroy the Simurgh's device before it became active. There was even talk about the fact that some were pushing for the entire city to be covered in a dome instead of the more usual concrete wall, but were shut down over the expense to do so when the device had never even activated.

The reason everyone seemed so certain that Invisible Man had Simurgh-proof tech and that he died was that the Simurgh had never reacted like she did during that fight, searching blindly for an opponent. She had only cut off pursuit when she had held her 'brick-o-location' in place for a full minute after she had stopped attacking anything.

Meanwhile in Canberra, I had crawled out of the bus and in to an abandoned home. I gorged on all the food in the fridge, then crawled in to a bedroom at the back of the house to go in to torpor. I didn't need to sleep, and it would turn my camouflage off, but it would also considerably speed my healing. I was willing to forgo some time awake now in order to have more time mobile soon. As that body dreamed, I focused on it's connection to the planter.

The planter was focusing diligently on it's job, which right now mostly consisted of scrounging food to fuel the creation of base seeds. They were extremely energy intensive to make compared to network seeds, but I needed the bases more, right now. Even with repeated trips to the smashed supermarkets and other sources of easy calories, I could only manage to make three or four bases per day. By the time my commando could move again, the planter will have saturated the circle around it with a dozen or so bases.

As soon as I was mobile, it would be a lot more important to make bases as equally spread as possible within the quarantine zone, to prevent me from having to drag corpses too far to fuel them. With my first base being ready in three days, and my first creatures ready by the fourth day, I would soon be able to move out and start helping people.

I would be walking a fine line, but in addition to trying to keep riots from breaking out because of panicked or crazy people, I would try to convince people to help me drag corpses into the digestion pools. I'm not sure how I'll convince people other than by telling them that it will help with disease, but I'm sure I'll have enough tries at it that I'll eventually have a decent argument.

With bio-matter coming in as fast as I can add bases, I estimated that I would be able to have a force of several thousand infiltrators within about a month, which was lucky since that's also around when the corpses would stop being useful as fuel, decomposing too much on their own already. I would be right up against the edge of what's possible, but I think that I could expand fast enough to deal with most of the corpses in the city and build up a suitable force before the corpses started causing problems for people.

When I finally got to Chris' lab, he was hard at work seeing if he was a 'transitions' tinker.

He jumped when I spoke up. "Hey Chris. What are you working on?"

Not quite in full tinker fugue, he was still rather distracted as he answered me.

"Well when I wanted to check if I could cause transitions between different energy types for my pistols, I got some ideas. I wouldn't be able to do it directly though. Something about the idea is almost right though."

I was scratching my head. "So, you have 'interfaces' and 'transitions' that are close, but 'multifunctionality' doesn't work? Let's see here. You could transition between different interfaces or something. What would that do? An 'integration' tinker? Do you think you could integrate say, my armour, and one of Armsmaster's scanners?"

Chris sat down at his desk and started scribbling. "No, that's not right either. This is so frustrating. I can feel that we're right on the edge of it, but we can't figure it out."

I sat down as well. "What's left then? If it's not transitioning between interfaces, maybe it's making interfaces for transitions?"

Chris just laid his head down on the desk. "Isn't that basically the same thing? We'll just come up with something else to try."

Shaking my head, I didn't let the thought go. There was something about it. "No, because transitioning between different interfaces is integrating different systems, while making interfaces for transitions would be... swappable parts? Some standardized connection that has interchangeable pieces."

Chris was staring at me now. "What, like modularity? If I could build anything modular I would have already made a modular power system or something, there's no way I could have a specialty that broad."

"Didn't you say that's how you ended up building your pistols though? You built them as spare power for your hoverboard. How do they attach?"

He dragged his board over to him, then snapped the front end and pistol grip of his pistol off and slapped the body to the bottom of the board. "Like that, see?" He seemed to think about what he had just done.

Very slowly, he took the former body of the pistol off of the board then looked at the attachment point. "Modular power supply? Holy shit! I already built a modular power supply, I just never used it for anything other than firing lasers!"

He started looking around his workshop at unfinished projects in a new light. Reverently he walked up to a belt looking attachment for his power armour and slotted his power supply in to place. It started to hum quietly.

"Holy shit. Holy Shit! This is the shield generator that I could never finish, I could never figure out how to build it with a self contained power supply." He was jumping around the room now.

He rushed over and hugged me. "Thankyouthankyouthankyou!" He was already back to flitting around his workshop looking at old unfinished projects.

"Modularity! Hah! That's so broad it's ridiculous. I could build just about anything. I have so many ideas now." He was grinning ear to ear.

This was good.


	30. 4-7

4.7  
o0O0o0O0o

It was the day after the Canberra attack and I was concentrating on placing bases in good locations. In order to stay in my network, the planter had to remain within range of my commando, who was still asleep. It wasn't that large of an impediment though. My range was decent like this.

I was focusing on making the bases in places where people wouldn't stumble on them by accident, but were still easy enough to get to that dragging bio-matter in to the digestion pools wouldn't be too challenging.

Making sure that no one stumbled in to one was more important than ensuring that they were never _found_. I didn't want to be responsible for anyone getting hurt by one of my bases just by random chance. I was alternating between placing bases and eating enough food to supply the energy needed to make the next one while looking for good locations.

I had already placed one today, and was scouting out a good location for a second when I spotted something very strange.

A woman walked up to a partially collapsed two story building then placed her hands on the wall before the entire building melted like wax in an oven. The walls and roof slumped inwards as they lost all load bearing capacity and the windows popped out and shattered when they hit the ground, evidently still rigid. As most of the building oozed in to what used to be the basement, objects started bobbing up to the surface like corks. Desks, silverware, a television and accompanying couch, it looked like everything that wasn't part of the building itself was now floating on a pool of building.

After everything settled, she removed her hands from the new 'floor' and everything stopped bobbing in place, now to all appearances sitting on a perfectly flat floor of melted and warped bricks. She walked over to the body that was laying roughly in the middle of the surface.

"Hey! You alive?" She gave the body a nudge with her foot.

When she got no response, she muttered unintelligibly to herself and started picking through the stuff on the floor. She picked through the office mini fridge for a second before coming back out with a sandwich which she opened and bit into immediately. While eating, she kept poking through the rest of the building, occasionally shoving something in to her pockets.

Meanwhile, I was considering. That ability would be extremely useful for search and rescue, but it looked like she was already doing a haphazard job of that already. What I was interested in was the fact that it brought everything to the surface, including bodies. If I could enlist her help it would help me immensely. Instead of needing to hunt for bodies by scent, then dragging them through shattered buildings to get back to my pools, I could just walk by and pick them up.

The problem was I didn't have any good means of interacting with her yet. My commando couldn't move, my infiltrators weren't ready, and my planter was both on a tether and had to stay invisible. It was my only choice at the moment though, if I wanted to avoid losing her into the city. Just in case I memorized her scent, then approached quietly.

Trying to project a calming voice, I spoke quietly to her. "Hi, I was wondering if we could help one another? Your abilities would be very useful to me, and I'm willing to trade for-"

She screamed and turned, trying to identify where the voice was coming from. "Show yourself. I've got a knife!" She drew a large kitchen knife, before waving it around.

I tried to calm her down. "Please, I would like to help you. Is there anything you need at the moment?"

She was still wild eyed and breathing heavily. After one last look around for my location, she darted on to the road, before standing still. "You stay away! I'll get you if you come any closer!"

Once again trying for a calming voice, I started approaching her. "Look, just calm down. I'm sure we can come to some sort of arrangement that you would be happy with, just put down-"

I stopped, both literally and figuratively. Looking down, I noticed my feet had sunk a couple of inches in to the street and she had seen it. Interesting, it looked like she could project her ability over quite a wide area, through her feet as well as her hands.

"You're trapped now you stupid bastard. Hope you stay stuck there." She turned and fled, unfortunately it was in the direction of the edge of my range.

I lifted my feet, cracking the pavement and freeing me, before deciding against pursuing her. She obviously wasn't going to talk to me right now, and I had her scent, so once I had some proper infiltrators ready I could track her down. Although it did remind me to check what parahumans were in the area. Belatedly, I looked online for anyone matching her powers that was known to operate in Canberra.

It looked like the mystery woman was known as Sinker, a villain who could choose to temporarily turn anything nonliving into a liquid, as well as choosing what sank or floated on it. She generally used her ability to evade capture by doing exactly what she had done to me. It was a good reminder to check my available resources before wading in like an idiot.

Oh well, at least I knew that she was around now. I suppose it was back to doing what I had been doing before the interruption, looking for good base locations.

o0O0o

"Have fun Amy!" Called out Victoria's voice from outside our front door.

Amy had arrived. I headed downstairs to greet her, opening the door just before she was about to knock.

"Hi Amy." She was wearing street clothes and still had bags under her eyes from Canberra, but she was at least looking alert.

"Hi Taylor. Can I come in?"

"Of course. Can I get you anything to drink? We've got coffee, orange juice and water." I asked, as I led her in to the house.

She took her coat off and hung it on one of our free coat hooks by the door before responding. "Some coffee please."

As I fetched her a mug, I started asking about what she wanted to work on. "So I know we talked about working on medical spray, but if you would rather, we could look at giving you the no sleep mod. Or whatever else, it's up to you, you're the guest today."

I brought her over to the kitchen table to sit down. I already had some sketch paper and some pencils out for if we needed them.

Taking the mug from me, she cradled it in her hands, trying to warm up her hands from the flight here. She thought about my question for a minute as she blew on her coffee. "If we make the medical spray, would you make it available to the public? It would be nice to deal with fewer emergency trauma cases at the hospital."

Nodding, I readily agreed. "Yes, just as soon as it cleared tinker approval. And I think this is one of those things that would be a political hot potato to deny."

"All right then. I would like to work on that. How do you want to do this? I've never 'tinkered' before." She cocked her head at me.

"First is just the brainstorming. What useful characteristics would you want to have in a medical wound spray? Off the top of my head, it should try to stop bleeding, reduce pain, and prevent infection. Anything else that you can think of?" I started writing down my points on the scrap paper I had in front of me. When I finished, I passed the paper over to her.

"Hmm. Preventing tissue necrosis and inflammation would be good, it would also be nice if it could start healing the wound. But I'm more concerned that it can't be overdosed on, or cause a high from pain relief. If people _can_ abuse the stuff, they will, so I want to make it idiot proof."

I thought that over.

"We could make it basically non-toxic and non-reactive so people can't hurt themselves with it. As for preventing overuse and abuse... How about we make it do that uncomfortable pins and needles feeling so you know it's working, but don't really _want_ to use it if you don't need it. Do you know the mechanism behind pins and needles?"

Amy let out a tiny chuckle, then started writing on the paper. "Yeah. It's just interrupted nerve impulses. It wouldn't be that hard to work it into the same mechanism as the pain reducing, so it will blunt pain, but you can still feel pins and needles instead of a high or numbness."

She slid the paper back to me. "Now what?"

"Now comes the hard part. We have to come up with the mechanisms that will actually accomplish what we want. One piece at a time though."

I looked down at the list. "First thing first. Stopping bleeding. What do you think, just include some super-sized platelets and call it a day, or is there something more effective we could do?"

Amy finally looked warmed up by now, and looked like she was really getting in to this. "Including some vasoconstrictors shouldn't be hard, and we could also make the spray gel if it comes in to contact with blood? I'm not sure what chemical you could use but that would help make a barrier layer over the wound."

I answered as I got up to get some snacks from the fridge. "That shouldn't be that hard. I'm pretty good at the chemistry side of things. Leave that compound to me. Want an apple?" I held up the apple in question.

"No, not with coffee. Um, so I think that covers blood right? Next would be..." She dragged the list over to herself. "Pain reduction. Right."

I walked back over to the table, then took a bite of my apple.

"Interrupting the right nerve impulses shouldn't be that hard, the body already has compounds that will do it for you already. We just need to copy them, and make sure that they leave the pins and needles feeling instead of nothing. That will deal with most situations."

"You seem to have that one pretty well covered. You might end up with a tinker rating if this ever gets out you know?" She blushed slightly at the praise, but looked a little uncomfortable.

I made sure she knew I was only joking. "Don't worry, I won't tell anyone if you don't want. Just let everyone think it was me doing all the work, with you looking over my shoulder.

She lost some of tension in her shoulders at my statement.

"My turn. For infection, I can make some some engineered phages that aggressively attack anything that's not a human cell. It wouldn't clear out, say, cancer, but it should deal with pretty much everything else the body doesn't want."

Something occurred to me. "Hmm. Except viruses. Might need to include some attack cells in the solution that will go after any viruses. That should cover all the nasties."

Amy paused as she was about to say something, then looked at my apple. "What about your microbiome? What if someone eats some of the spray, would it take out gut bacteria and such?"

I gave the thought some consideration. "I could add specific exceptions to the human only rule? There's only a few hundred useful families of bacteria. If I ignore those, it will deal with ninety-nine percent of the problem. Good catch though."

Amy looked at the list again. "So inflammation and tissue necrosis should be easy enough, just make the spray oxygen rich and include an anti-inflammatory or four. Lack of oxygenation is what causes most of wound tissue necrosis, and the rest is because the cells are already critically damaged and there's nothing to do about it. Starting healing is a problem though. The situation is different every time, so it would be difficult to know what to do that wouldn't hurt in some percentage of cases you were using it in. Do you have any ideas?"

"I suppose I could include some totipotent human cells, I could even prevent tissue rejection. The problem would be that if you got them in the wrong place, you would be growing epithelial cells over veins and other unwanted cell differentiation. I'm not sure how I would make the cells only activate when needed. My own wound recovery works on totally different mechanisms than normal, so that won't help with a baseline human."

Finishing off my apple, I walked over and threw the core in the garbage. "I think just shelve the problem for now. If we think of something to deal with it later we can always include it, but for now I want to get started on actually making something. Want to walk to my base with me to start making a dispenser for the stuff? I'll show you around."

Amy looked excited at the prospect, as she jumped up from the table. "Sure! Have you shown anyone else?"

"Just my dad. But this time I have some bio-luminescence on the walls and ceiling so you can actually see stuff. When I brought him there, he couldn't really see anything interesting. I'm growing my next swooper there at the moment, if you're interested."

Her eyes lit up. "Let's go. Your creatures are fascinating. I don't know how you manage to work with genetics that complex, it's orders of magnitude more complicated than anything on earth. The first time I touched your creature for that testing that Ms. Piggot wanted, I kind of got lost in the stream of information."

"You-" She pointed at me. "are a hazard to biokinetics everywhere. It's like seeing the sun for the first time in your life. There's just nothing else that even comes close to that scope that you will ever see anywhere else. I wish I could have seen my face when you poked me in the shoulder at lunch when I wasn't expecting it. It was like being clobbered over the head with a work of fine art, it just..." She stopped talking as she realized what she had just said. She started blushing hard.

"Um. I meant, as in it was like the art was surprising, not that you're like a work of art. I mean. You kind of are with how well you designed yourself, but that's not what I meant either. Oh God. I'm just going to shut up now."

She just buried her face in her hands, refusing to look at me. I thought how to defuse the situation, before realizing I had just the gesture to show her that I didn't take offense.

I poked her in the shoulder.


	31. 4-8

4.8  
o0O0o0O0o

Amy and I ended up finishing the trauma spray dispenser as well as a powerful tranquilizer cocktail. The problem with the tranquilizer was that neither of us knew of a safe enough way to administer the correct dosage, and getting the dosage wrong could prove fatal. I decided to do the tinker tech approval write up for both on Sunday anyway. I had a while before patrol still, so I was filling out the paperwork in the common room.

Chris was in the lab, tinkering happily away. I expected him to be there all day every weekend for the foreseeable future. Using his recommendations, I was trying to get the trauma spray authorized for 'general public use' but I knew that would never fly with the tranquilizer, so that one I was only aiming for 'authorized targets only'.

The spray applicator looked like normal, if opaque, spray bottle. I even took apart our Windex bottle to see how it worked to get some of the parts a little more reliable. The only difference was that the bottom half was a little bio-factory that secreted the spray in to a small incubator reservoir that kept the solution stable and ready for use. You only needed to shove in the occasional food product and water, and it could keep the spray stable and ready to use for years.

One thing going for me was that getting both approved would go faster than usual since Amy could sign off as one of the two required subject matter experts for passing any bio-tech. If Armsmaster also signed off, I just had to get the final stamp of approval from the offices in New York. I expected to get approval back for both before the taser ball approval came back honestly.

My first base in Canberra would be done growing soon, so I was already in the process of gathering bio-matter to feed it as soon as possible. It was grisly, but I would have infiltrators ready by tomorrow morning. It would be nice to finally have a chance to go out and start helping people, as well as talking to people in the area to start taking stock.

My planter had already finished all the bases I would be making in the area around my commando. Fortunately, my injuries should be healed in time to move out with that as well by tomorrow. First priority would be planting a beacon as close to the middle of the quarantine zone as possible, to have something to center on. Then I would be moving out in a large spiral, spacing bases out so that they were more accessible to more of the city.

The first batch of infiltrators would be almost entirely focused on gathering more bio-matter. Eventually, I would be able to dedicate more to keeping the peace, but at the beginning I would be mostly focused on expanding.

I was busy making a machine that would spit out trauma spray bottles when Dennis showed up for patrol with me. I paused my work to suit up and go meet him in the common room.

"Hey Hive!" He was as enthusiastic as ever. Already suited up in his all-white costume, he looked ready to go.

"Hello Dennis. Who's on console today?" I couldn't see anyone else in right now.

"Good thing you're in power armour, 'cause you get to be the one to drag Chris out here. He's on console today. He's been burning his tinker-time hours like mad this week, so it finally fell to him." I could hear his grin, despite the featureless white helmet he wore.

"Alright, but you owe me." I retorted, even as I walked over to Kid Win's lab.

Knocking on the open door frame, he looked up from where he was fitting a new barrel attachment to his power supply. "Hey Chris. Dennis said you're on Console today? We're gonna get going soon, just so you know."

He looked at what he was working on for a second, before setting it down. "Alright. I suppose I'm at a good stopping point now. It's just so exciting to finally have a plan to work by, y'know?"

I just nodded in sympathy. "Yeah, I get it. My life only started making sense again when I could finally get some of my ideas built."

He just trailed along, pulling up the console chair when we got there.

Looking over at Dennis, I gestured to the door. "After you."

We got a ride to the south of the city in companionable silence. Once we got out, we started patrolling the streets. As per usual, I had some critters following us.

The merchants had been acting agitated ever since Monday, but we were currently in Empire 88 territory, so I didn't expect too much trouble. About five minutes of walking later, I turned to Dennis and asked him something I hadn't thought of for over a week.

"Hey Clockblocker, what ever happened to Shadow Stalker? I saw her that first day, but I haven't even seen a glimpse of her since then." Almost, I had said Sophia, before remembering that we were in public, so I should use code names.

Dennis thought about how to answer me for a minute before responding. "She was already on her last strike before being thrown in juvie. Before she attacked you she was basically on a suspended sentence until she hit eighteen, when her case would have been reevaluated. Since she snapped, they threw the book at her. I think the last charge of attempted murder still has to go through the courts, but she's not going to see the light of day for a while. Good riddance."

"I know she was bad at school, but she actually acted like that to you guys too? I'm amazed she got away with it as long as she did." I didn't think that it said very good things about the PRT. We were watched with such a careful eye when 'on the clock' and yet someone who had every reason to be watched for poor behavior was essentially ignored as soon as she was someone else's problem. In this case that was the school, but it really extended beyond that. Although I suppose I should be thankful that they were lax. It basically meant that _I_ could get away with whatever I did as well.

"Yes. It wasn't so bad for me, 'cause I could give as good as I got, but Shadow Stalker ragged on Vista and Kid Win pretty hard. Aegis was technically her superior, so she generally left him well enough alone."

"Hmm." I just made an agreeable sound, then walked in silence for a while, contemplating the situation.

If it was just the local branch that was incompetent or corrupt, that would be far preferable to the whole system being rotten, but I didn't have any evidence one way or another. I could make use of an incompetent PRT locally, but even then, I would prefer that they were reasonable and transparent.

I'm not sure what I would do if it turns out that the corruption is more wide spread. I guess it would depend on how things went in Canberra. If it turns out that I really could bring order to a problem on that scale, I would need to see what I could do to replace the current system.

For that matter, it would be important to come up with my own checks and balances. I could operate with impunity in Canberra because there was literally nothing I could do to make it worse, even if there was a Master that could effect my entire network at once. The worlds worst Master had already done her worst there. But if I was going to work on spreading further than Canberra and Brockton Bay, I would need to come up with my own counters.

I knew one thing for certain, I wouldn't be relying on institutions to stay vigil and do the difficult job. I had seen personally and all too clearly how institutions could fall if even one layer of the bureaucratic engine was misfiring. Which meant I was left with trusting individuals. Finding the right ones would be a challenge, and making sure they could survive as long as I could would be another. I knew that if it turned into a job of looking for a good adviser every twenty or forty years, I would eventually pick a bad one that wormed their way through all of my checks.

It felt slightly arrogant to be planning for the next few hundred or thousand years, but I knew that in my current state, I was already almost unkillable. Even if someone found a power nullifier that would work on my biology, which I already knew was unlikely, the worst they could do to me was kill a local node of my network. They could kill _a_ Taylor Hebert, but they could not kill _all of_ Taylor Hebert. Not anymore. It would take a planet killer to destroy all of me, and I didn't plan on letting that be the case forever. Already I knew I would be traveling to space eventually.

How to provide my own counter though? It would need to be someone with an unbendable moral fiber. And even then, they would need to possess immense personal power. I wouldn't, couldn't provide a self destruct button for my own mind, so I would need someone that could match, or nearly match my own capabilities.

I would keep an eye out. I could afford to take my time to find the right person. After all, mental and moral drift wouldn't be relevant on the span of a few years. The person who I was right now had a very firm sense of self and changing that identity far enough that my current self would agree that I should be killed or neutralized would take a long time. Not forever. Nothing in the universe unchangeable. Stars died, planets crumbled, even black holes evaporated eventually. But if you could find a pair who agreed to keep each other in check... You could last a lot longer. Perhaps I could even outlive the stars. I would certainly try.

All this thinking of time got me wondering about my patrol partner's power. He froze things solid in time, making them unaffectable by any known force, natural or artificial. How would that apply to me though? Certainly it could affect my human body, but would it affect my mind? Inquiring minds want to know.

"Hey Clockblocker, You want to check if your power works on me? I don't think we've ever actually tested that before. It should work fine, but I'm curious how it affects the creatures I'm controlling. Want to test it? Totally off the books though, I don't want to deal with Piggot over this crap."

He started at me for a minute before responding. "You know, I think that's the first time that someone has actually _asked_ to be frozen. Sure, I don't mind testing it. You might want to unseal your armour though. Mine has holes along the helmet so I can still breath when I freeze it, but yours is sealed right?"

In lieu of answering him, I unsealed the lower half of my face mask, exposing from my chin to my nose. Looking around to make sure I wouldn't be in the way when frozen, I held my hand out to him.

He extended a finger to touch the back of my hand, and of course he decided to add sound effects.

"Kapow."

My armour locked perfectly rigid. I couldn't even fall over anymore. I grinned. This was pretty cool.

To pass the time until my armour randomly unfroze, I decided to ask him about his power.

"So I know you just froze my armour, but does that mean you would be unable to freeze me when I'm inside it?"

He was shaking his head. "Nah, I get to choose what to freeze. Right now I just froze your armour."

Hmm. Interesting. "So you can freeze things that are touching the things that you touch?"

"Yeah, otherwise I wouldn't be able to freeze you while wearing gloves, see?" He held a white gloved hand up. I suppose that he did have a point.

"So if you don't freeze your gloves every time, does that mean you could freeze me but not my armour?"

"Nope, I thought of that. If you want to be specific, I can avoid freezing things that I think of as me, and I can freeze anything that I think of as one object all at once. So while I can avoid freezing my gloves if I think of them as part of 'me'; I can't freeze someone but not their clothes if I'm touching their clothes, because I don't think of their clothes as part of me."

That made a twisted sort of sense. "Ah, so you wouldn't be able to, say, freeze someone by freezing the air touching them, because they and their clothes are one thing, but they and the air are not."

"Yeah, that's it exactly. Otherwise I could just freeze people at a distance through the ground."

That raises another question. "So can you freeze the air?"

He shuddered. "I don't know, and I've never tried. What if I succeed? I could suffocate everyone in the area."

"What about just the air touching your glove? That could be one thing right? Do you have to have a mental picture in your head ahead of time or something?"

Just as suddenly as it had started, my armour unfroze, enabling me to move again.

"When I'm freezing something, I get an instant mental picture of what I'm trying to define as the target, so that should be safe enough to test."

He held his left and up and then held it still. Perfectly still in fact.

"Uh oh." He started tugging on his hand, but he had inadvertently constructed the worlds best fitting manacles for his own hand.

"Shit, now what." He said plaintively.

I just bent over in laughter, that was just too funny.

"Hey, it's not that funny!" I just laughed harder.

He reached over to me. "That's it, you're getting froze-"

"-en" I heard the last part of his word only through my runner and swooper. Fascinating, getting frozen in time dropped my body out of my network entirely. It was as if that body had just suddenly ceased to exist. I was paying careful attention. It would be useful data to know what happened when my human body reconnected to the network when there was a time and information disparity between my two mental states at the time of reconnection.

Dennis was still tugging on his hand when my connection snapped back in to place. There was a moment of disorientation as my body absorbed the information from when it had been missing from the network, but it wasn't painful, merely unexpected from the perspective of my body.

Useful data to have.

Dennis finally came free, almost managing to smack himself in the face with the force he was applying to his hand at the time. I valiantly resisted the urge to laugh again.

"Man I hope no one managed to film that..." Muttered Dennis.

"Hey, I've got another one for you: can you freeze something through something that's already frozen? Like, say you freeze my costume, then try to freeze me as well as my costume, even though the costume is already frozen, would that work?"

He scratched his head as we started walking again. "You know I've never tried that before. I wonder what would happen..."


	32. 5-1

5.1  
o0O0o0O0o

My first batch of a dozen infiltrators was finally ready, and my commando could walk again. I was ready to go exploring. Which was fortuitous timing, because people were finally making their way out of the Endbringer shelters. They only held three or four days of provisions, but people were understandably nervous about going back out in to a destroyed city. The only ones that had ventured forth before they ran out of provisions were the brave, stupid, crazy, or powerful. Most capes ticked more than one of those boxes, which is why the streets had been only _mostly_ dead for the past few days.

Despite the horror stories of the insides of quarantine zones, it looked like most people were just trying to survive in here. Worried about the future, but mostly sticking together. Of course, just as I was thinking that, I ran across a group of people that were working up their courage to try to storm the quarantine walls. I suppose sticking together wasn't always a _positive_ thing after all, if you were all _crazy_.

"There's too many of us. They might get some, but there's no way they could get us all! We have to go now, before the permanent fencing is in place!" Shouted the apparent leader, trying to bolster everyone's courage. There had to be at least fifty people in the crowd.

I decided to intervene before everyone in the group got themselves dead by army.

"Unless, y'know, they all have machine guns, and you don't even have armour." People were staring at my infiltrator's bodies. Visibly _almost_ human. No one dared say anything yet.

I continued. "Then they probably _could_ get you all. And you know they'd try. Don't expect sympathy, remember what happened when the States tried releasing people after time had passed once the Simurgh had left." Already, fervent faces were starting to show signs of worry. They hadn't thought this through, they were just desperate.

"Look, why don't you return to your homes, and take a few days to calm-"

The leader interrupted me. "Who the fuck are you? What the fuck are you?! You don't look human, and you don't sound local, so tell us what you want!"

I tried to get things back on track. "I'm Myriad. I'm a hero that wants to try to help the people of Canberra. I'm here because the outside world fears self-replication almost as much as it fears the Simurgh, so I decided to live in here with you to try to help out." I said the last part while gesturing between several of my bodies, proving my point.

"And more important to this situation: I wasn't exposed to the Simurgh's song, and I saw them setting up the cordons, as well as gunning down the people who tried to make it out. So you can trust me when I say this plan won't work."

Most of the crowd was looking nervously at each other by this point, but the leader had a mad passion in his eyes that I didn't like.

He turned back to the crowd. "She's lying! She's just an agent planted to keep us here long enough for them to finish the fencing! If we kill her now, they'll never know that their plan failed. Come on! We outnumber her."

He charged me with a scream of wild rage. I casually started dodging his clumsy swings as the rest of my bodies stayed as calm as possible to draw the comparison between his unhinged manner and my calm reasoning a little stronger. And it seemed to be working. The crowd was watching stupefied as the man who they had been following proved how far gone he was.

They started muttering now. A couple wanted to try to help him, but even mentioning that caused other members of the crowd to back away from them a little bit. Everyone knew the effects of the Simurgh's scream, and having pointed out that he was acting irrationally, people couldn't help but notice it themselves.

Unfortunately, the leader heard the mutters as well, because he swung around to stare at them. Ignoring the infiltrator at his back.

"I get it. You're all spies. This is all a trick to keep me stuck here! I'll kill you all myself."

As he started running towards them, I grabbed him by the ankle, tripping him up and making him land heavily on his face. He was pushing himself back up, when his head exploded.

The crowd scattered instantly, running away in all directions. I searched for the attacker, only to spot them a second later. It was a dark skinned man in a power armour frame with scuba tanks on the back, holding a gun. I ran towards him, trying to stop him from shooting another one of the crowd. I slowed when I noticed that he was awkwardly trying to open his gun to load in another bullet with one good arm, and one bloody stump. His entire left forearm was missing, the end wrapped in a bloody rag. He wasn't any danger to me or the crowd at the moment.

Deciding to try to get as much information as possible first, I asked him. "Why did you shoot that man? And who are you?"

Now that I had a better chance to observe him, he looked absolutely dead on his feet. Bloodshot eyes and serious bags under his eyes as well. He looked at me questioningly.

"Why did I... What? He was totally gone. You just have to kill the ones like that, there's no helping them. They just go around killing people and screaming at imaginary things."

"Didn't you just kill someone? Does that mean you're totally gone too?" He had to think about that one for a moment.

"Wha? No, 'cause I'm not screaming at things. Weren't you just trying to help that crowd? Shouldn't you know by now that some people here are just totally crazy?"

I just shook my head, while the rest of my infiltrators started spreading out to look for more trouble. "Do you even remember the other question I asked you? How long has it been since you slept?"

He stopped fiddling with his gun, which on closer examination, had a small air tank on the back. "Huh? Um. Oh, right. I'm Scramjet. I'm one of the Protectorate members that came to fight the Simurgh. And, three days maybe? Once I got stranded in the quarantine zone, all the shelters were already sealed, so I've had to stay awake to stay safe."

I could work with this. "Tell you what Scramjet. Why don't we find an abandoned house, and you can grab some sleep, while I stand guard. I don't think you're going to be much help to anyone, including yourself in your current state."

He gave me a hard stare. Seconds passed uncomfortably. He seemed to be having considerable difficulty focusing long enough to come up with an answer.

"I guess I can't just stay up forever. Alright Myriad. Let's go" He snapped his gun to the side of his armour after three attempts at it, then I heard a hiss of air as the large tanks on his back refilled the smaller tank on the gun.

I found the closest intact house I could, before leading him to a bedroom. He struggled to get out of his armour with only one good arm and poor coordination, but managed. He seemed to think of something, even as he lay down.

"Oh! Could you pump up my tanks. Haven't had... chance... compressor... power..." He was out like a light.

As soon as he was asleep I allowed myself to focus on the information I had been looking up online since he mentioned his name.

Scramjet - air compression and aerodynamics tinker. His power armour frame ran entirely off of compressed air for active pneumatics, and sealed gas cylinders for passive weight compensation.

I was examining his armour, wondering what could have caused his missing left arm, when I spotted the pneumatic folding blade on his armour's right arm. The bloody folding blade. With a sniff to confirm, it was definitely his own blood. It told a story.

He had come to help fight the Simurgh, but had run out of time to get back out of the quarantine zone. He knew that his wristband would blow him up if he stayed to long, so he had removed it in a way that wouldn't set off the explosives. He had chopped off his own arm once his time ran out. The Protectorate probably thought he was dead, his wristband would have reported the loss of pulse as death.

Since then, he had been trying desperately to survive, while helping as many people as he could, but was getting increasingly irrational about it. As proven by his way of dealing with the situation with the crowd earlier. It didn't help that he would be constantly running low on air pressure with no electricity to run the compressor built in to his suit. He would have to recharge the pressure manually, with one arm, a physically draining activity that only added to the strain.

I assumed that's what he was asking for when he passed out, for me to recharge his suit's reserves while he was asleep. Looking at the gauge, he had less than a quarter tank of useful pressure left. Finding the manual pump handle was easy enough, so I unclipped the handle from the side of the armour and decided to give him a set of full tanks for when he woke up. Maybe it would favourably predispose him towards me a bit.

There were a lot of things I could think of that a tinker could help with if he agreed to assist me in restoring order. I would keep an eye out for a good location for a workshop for him to set up in, as well as a generator for running his compressors off of.

While he slept, I was searching the city. There were smashed trees everywhere, which would be useful bio-matter eventually, but I still wanted to focus on the corpses first for two reasons. One, it would legitimately help with disease outbreaks if I could get them taken care of before they started rotting. And two, meat was more energy dense than plant matter, or at least I could extract more energy out of it. Right now I was prioritizing time above all else. I could settle back down to a normal operating level once I actually had enough bodies in the streets to keep people safe.

I found some bottled water and some easy food for Scramjet to have once he woke up, which probably wouldn't be for quite some time given how long he had forced himself to stay awake.

In the meantime I was hunting for a good workshop. Finding an abandoned garage wasn't that difficult. It was hunting for a working generator that took more time. I did have several advantages though. I could look up the location of specific stores online, even though no one else here had internet, which allowed me to narrow down the locations a fair amount. Next, I could smell fuel. Since gasoline and diesel weren't normally inside buildings, I could go hunting for the stores that were most likely to have one inside. Finally, I was much stronger than average. When I finally found an army surplus store that smelled like fuel, I could move debris out of the way to make it to a back room where there were some generators and some Jerry cans of fuel. I picked out the quietest looking generator, then brought it and as much fuel as they had available to the garage.

I didn't know what options Scramjet would have for generating power once he had a while to tinker, but most tinkers had something that could be used for that purpose. Having running power would be a huge boon to getting infrastructure back up and working to a minimal acceptable level. We couldn't rely on generators for very long after all, there was only so much fuel in Canberra and we weren't going to get any more after that. We would either need to make it ourselves or find alternate sources of power.

Now I just had to wait for Scramjet to wake up.

o0O0o

Scramjet woke with a pained groan. He grasped blindly for his hind, only to bump the stump and gasp in pain. That woke him fully in a hurry.

"Wha?" He looked around in confusion for a second before remembering the events that lead to him being there, at which point he promptly bent over and threw up over the edge of the bed.

As he was recovering I went to grab the food, water, and painkillers I had found him. He grabbed the water gratefully before realizing that he didn't have any way of opening the bottle. I quickly turned the cap off for him, the clicks of the seal breaking sounding loud in the room.

He took several deep pulls of water before he even tried to say anything.

"Thank you. Myriad was it?" He looked at me closer when I nodded.

"God, I didn't even realize you were a case 53. I must have been really out of it, I think I was already starting to lose it. That all really happened didn't it?"

"I'm afraid so. Lets not dwell on it right now though. While you were out, I found some resources. When you're up to it we can head over to the garage I found. It should serve as a decent workshop for you to repair your gear and get situated. You'll be able to help people much better once you're on your feet properly. I'm assuming that you still want to help people?"

He took some painkillers, then washed it down with some more water before responding.

"Yeah. That's why I went to fight the Simurgh in the first place. I thought I could be a little quicker, but she blocked my way out with debris. I'm not sure she ever even bothered to look in my direction."

Standing, he started to examine his armour.

"My name's Wesley. Thank you for snapping me out of it. I probably would have just kept going till I collapsed, then got killed by an idiot with a brick or something. Do you have another name?"

Shaking my head, he seemed to understand. Most case 53's didn't have one that they hadn't come up with themselves after all. "No, just Myriad. Glad to help out. I can make more of myself, and I always stay in contact with all of my bodies, so I would like your help getting some real infrastructure restarted once things calm down a little. I'm pretty well suited to coordination, but I don't have any particular skills with making infrastructure, so you would be a huge help. Want to be partners for now? You just tell me what you need and one of my bodies can find it for you."

He got a fleeting smile on his face when he noticed that I had pumped up his air tanks. "That would be good. Better than bumming around Dalton, Ohio, waiting for something to happen for the rest of my life. Look on the bright side I guess." He strained to smile, but only managed a lopsided grin.

"You ready to move, or do you want to eat something first?" My question was answered by his stomach complaining loudly at the question.

I let out a laugh. "I guess that answers that question. Here, I brought some sandwiches."

Wesley started eating them as fast as he could with one arm. "Thanks, Myriad." He managed through a mouthful of food.

"No problem. Now, while you're eating, let me fill you in on what I found while you were out."


	33. 5-2

5.2  
o0O0o0O0o

The leader of my strike team was finally ready. I had my boat base switch over to producing a couple of new planters, while my underground base just started on new commandos, I had seen how useful they were in Canberra.

As the leader, I was massive. Easily twenty feet tall, twice the height of a commando. I had to be careful where I walked because I would leave footprints in hard ground. Probably six tons or more, given the effect I had on the ground spread over the surface area my feet covered, I was a living tank.

Out of curiosity, I tried slicing through a boat hull with my bonesword. It wasn't like passing through butter, it was like passing through air. There was hardly any noticeable resistance to my swing.

On a more worrying note, I figured out what some of the extra neural tissue was for. When I looked at something that could think, a person, a dog, a bird, I got a sense that I could _push_ if I wanted. Since I figured it would be safest to try on a bird, I blasted an unsuspecting seagull.

It gave a pitying scream and promptly dropped out of the sky. When I went to look at it, it was flopping in an ungainly manner on the ground, eyes rolling crazily. Eventually it managed to struggle to its feet after dragging its way across the sand for a ways, but I'm not sure it would ever be able to fly again. I decided to put it out of it's misery and just ate the thing.

Great. I now have a psychic blast. I suppose I could just _not_ use the stupid thing. Although part of me wondered how it would effect an Endbringer...

Probably best not to temp fate.

I knew that there was more to my new abilities than that, but I couldn't figure out the rest by basic experimentation. I think I needed more understanding of the mechanics themselves before I could actually utilize them. In fact I'm pretty sure the only reason the psychic blast worked was because I had en epiphany about how that aspect of my powers worked when I experienced the Simurgh's psychic scream myself. This was my version of a psychic scream.

The Simurgh's scream was simultaneously more subtle and considerably more powerful than my own version, but it was also less _direct_. My version used an order of magnitude or two less energy per target, but it also affected the brain more _immediately_. If she was knocking people over with hurricane force winds, I was using a gun. While the wind had orders of magnitude more energy behind it and it affected everyone in front of it, it wasn't _designed_ for knocking people over. A bullet _was_ designed to maximize damage.

The thing was, the effects of my newest ability or the Simurgh's scream only worked on minds. But I got the distinct impression that some of my abilities were designed to work on matter or even more fundamental things in the same way. There was even an aspect of that woven into the boneswords.

Ultimately, I decided to swim to Boston with my leader, and fly with my three commandos. I expected the journey to take about a day. I would have a _chat_ with Blasto on Thursday, and make sure we were on the same wavelength. If he took my runner, I would make sure he would understand not to do it again. If he didn't I would make sure he understood never to do it in the first place.

I'd decide where to go after that.

o0O0o

It was the middle of the week, and my beacon in Canberra was finally complete. It was planted on the roof of the parliament house, which I just found amusing. Wesley was settling in to his new workshop. Ultimately he had decided it was easier to have a bed and mattress brought in so he could sleep there than finding one of the nearby houses that was both unoccupied and safe.

He had done basic repairs on his suit, and now he was starting a list of supplies he would need to turn the garage in to a proper tinker lab. The diving supplies would probably be the most obscure, but I still had the ability to look up that information online. Other than that, it was mostly mundane hardware like high pressure air tubes, connectors, and the like. He said that a micro foundry setup would help him cast his own parts for things like better and quieter compressors than were available commercially, but he could work with the commercial stuff if I couldn't find any.

His idea for power was to set up a wind turbine. It would just be large enough to power his lab, but it would eliminate the need for generator fuel.

"My turbines work much more consistently at lower air speeds. All of the commercial designs only work at their optimal speeds, and anything slower generates an order of magnitude less power. Mine just generate linearly less energy until they stop." He was finally starting to get over the horror of his first three days in Canberra, although he still called out wordlessly in his sleep.

We had finally got a chance to put proper bandages on his stump, as well as some salvaged antibiotics from a vet's medicine cabinet. It was crusted over, but didn't look like it was getting infected.

"How do you deal with the power fluctuations? Even if yours is more consistent, the wind still varies quite a bit."

He just gestured over to the air tanks on the back of his suit. "With compressed air buffers of course. The reason I need more tanks isn't just for replacements, it's for increased capacity. If I run my most efficient compressor off of the turbines, It evens out all the power spikes without costing me too much in terms of efficiency. I even toyed with the idea of going from a windmill to a compressor directly without the electricity conversion in the middle, but I lose too much utility in running any tools I need that run off of normal power. I can't make mundane batteries any better than normal, but having a couple that get topped off regularly from the turbines really increases the variety of tools I can use that I don't have to build from scratch."

Armsmaster would be horrified at the efficiency losses, but Wesley struck me as a very practical sort of person, who valued mundane utility over efficiency.

Wesley gestured to the tool bench with his stump. "It would take me years to build up all those power tools properly to run directly off of air power with this stupid stump. I work much less than half speed with a missing hand. I'll have to make a prosthetic at some point, but there's no point in starting that until it heals a little more. I would just be immobilizing myself with pain every time I tried to use that hand for something."

"Do you need more painkillers again?" I asked, I had been keeping track of his doses, but so far he had been staying well below the maximum allowed dose.

"No. It's mostly fine so long as I don't bump it. It's the itching that really gets to me. But you didn't come here to hear me bitch. Did you have a reason for bringing up my power generation?"

I thought about how to broach the subject. "It's about my infrastructure ideas. How big of a wind turbine do you think you could make?"

He looked at me with a slightly challenging look. "How big do you need? I should be able to make a system that works on a larger scale than any of the commercial ones out there, the problem would be constructing the thing. We just don't have the facilities required to cast the blades out of metal, and good luck finding trees the right size and shape that you could carve them out of wood. I suppose you could make composite wood blades, but my specialty doesn't help me at all there, so I would just be guessing at how to make them without falling apart."

I tried to explain my idea a little bit better. "I would like to form a hub, or perhaps several hubs, where people could gather into communities with power and running water. If people have the basic necessities, they would be a lot less desperate. If we could get a system in place to distribute food to the community centers, I think we could manage to actually supply everyone properly and prevent people rioting over food and necessities. I've already heard the mutterings, it's been almost a week, and people don't know where their next meal is coming from. The Endbringer shelters helped for a while, and people will clear out their pantries to last a while longer, but after that, we need to start having a plan in place for when the food deliveries start."

He nodded as he started flipping through his pages of sketches. "I get you. I'll think on what I could do to make a bigger system with what we have available. Maybe a system of smaller turbines? You would be losing out on the efficiency gain from being higher up in the stronger winds, but you could at least build the things. Maintenance would be another issue with that many moving parts, but I'll look through my notes and see if I can come up with any designs that would require less maintenance, even if they would be a little less efficient. Get back to me in a couple of days alright?"

"Sure. Sounds good. I'll let you know if I have any ideas for making the bigger ones."

He was already sketching in his pad of ideas, so I figured I'd leave him be for now.

o0O0o

Back in Brockton Bay, I had just finished school and was getting ready for a patrol with Chris. We would be moving through Merchant territory today, so we were expecting a bit more trouble.

Chris was just happy that he got the paperwork done for his shield belt. That project had been sitting on his bench for more than a year.

We were talking about approvals over the radio while he was flying and I was advancing on the ground.

"I expect you'll probably get an answer back about your taser balls next week, mine normally take about two weeks to clear, and you said that bio-tinker stuff has to go through an extra check. They don't process stuff on the weekends, but they usually try to clear the backlog on Monday."

"So how long does it take if they bounce it back because you miscategorize it?"

He was just about to answer when I interrupted. "Wait. I heard a gunshot. I think it was up ahead, want to check it out?"

Already heading in that direction, he called it in on the radio in lieu of answering. "Kid Win to console, gunshots up ahead. Ah, I see them, looks like an unpowered Merchant holding up a convenience store."

Carlos' voice came over the radio. "Console acknowledges. Try to protect the civilians. If there is only one perp, attempt to apprehend."

Kid Win and I advanced just as the Merchants was leaving the store with a plastic bag with the cash from the register in it. He spotted us and bolted in to the abandoned office building nearby.

"Kid Win to console, looks like the civilians are safe. Perp is fleeing in to a building, pursuing."

"Console acknowledges."

I ran in first, since I was bulletproof and Chris wasn't, followed in by a runner and then Chris, who landed and strapped his hoverboard to his back. Drawing his laser pistols, he followed me.

I had seen a flash of the robber out of the corner of my eye when I entered, so I started leading Chris in that direction. When we got to a hallway full of small offices, Chris and I started checking them one by one.

He was a little fast in clearing the third room, turning around to go back in to the hallway when we both heard a gun cock. The robber had been standing behind a filing cabinet.

I turned invisible to try to get the drop on him, but he immediately pointed his gun at Chris' head.

"Ah, ah, ah, missy. I know that trick. Back where I can see you or your partner gets an extra hole in the head."

I turned visible again, but kept advancing my invisible runner.

The merchant was just about to continue talking when he spotted my runner depressing the carpet. This one was smarter than most merchants. He knew better than to fire a shot at the runner, so he gave a warning shot next to Chris' head.

"The beastie too."

Unfortunately he had a perfectly steady aim, and was too close to miss, so I turned my runner visible as well.

I tried surreptitiously raising my runner's net launcher, but the robber started tightening his finger on the trigger, so I dropped it again.

We were at a stand off. I knew that I had better reaction times, but he had a perfect shot at Chris.

The silence stretched. If I could just disrupt his shot for a second, I could get him with a net.

With my runner visible again, I noticed the tracery of my luciferin glow lines shining softly in the dark room. If I could make a tiny modification, seconds at most, I could fire the reaction off all at once, causing a blinding flash. It wouldn't quite be a flash bang, but it would be the next best thing.

I made the modification, five seconds left. Try to distract him a little.

"You know, if you drop the gun, I'm sure that-"

There was an actinic flash of blinding blue light for a fraction of a second. I aimed and fired my net.

The robber screamed and clutched his eyes, and I had the runner tackle him to the ground even as the net was wrapping around him. Fortunately my net's epoxy didn't stick to my carapace, so I didn't get bound to him.

Chris' visor filtered out most of the light, so he wasn't nearly as badly affected, but even he took a step back.

I called it in. "Hive to console. Perp is apprehended, please send a pickup."

Chris just looked at me. "That was far too close. I think I'm going to be waiting on my shield belt now."

I shared the look with him. "Yeah. You and me both. Now we're going to have to do the report on this encounter though. I'm not looking forward to it."

He just grimaced. "Ew, don't remind me. I messed up and you had to save me from getting a hole in the head. Not looking forward to talking to Piggot."

When we got back to base, I was pleasantly surprised. "Deputy Director Renick? What are you doing debriefing us?"


	34. 5-3

5.3  
o0O0o0O0o

"Deputy Director Renick? What are you doing debriefing us?"

He took a moment to answer. "I'm not entirely sure. The Director grabbed all the vacation hours she's saved up over the years and told me that I am in charge for the foreseeable future. If it were anyone else I would say that they just decided that they needed a break, but with Emily it's probably some crisis that she thinks is life or death."

After a moment of silence he continued. "But we're really not here to talk about that at the moment. If you would please explain what happened on your patrol, I can start the paperwork for it."

Chris and I took turns explaining the events as they happened. Renick had a mild frown on his face, but didn't look angry.

He sat for a moment to digest the story. Chris looked fairly nervous, but I wasn't too worried. Renick was very reasonable and we had done what we could to mitigate the worst outcomes.

"I see. Well, that was quick thinking to prevent the situation getting worse, but we'll need to have a refresher on tactical awareness. Perhaps it would be best if all the Wards had a refresher course, it will only do you good."

Chris slumped slightly, probably from a combination of being the one to cause the extra work for all the Wards, but also from relief that it wasn't anything worse.

Renick turned to me. "Although I am interested in this 'flash' that you pulled off. I don't remember your creatures having that capability before? Was this untested tinker tech?"

I winced slightly. "Not _technically_. It wasn't new equipment, it was just something that I did with the runner."

"And yet it hasn't shown that capability before. When did you add that ability? You know that changes to existing tinker tech need to be authorized, even though it is a shorter process than getting new equipment passed."

I shook my head in negation. "No, that's not it either. My creatures have the ability to modify themselves, and always have, so this is part of what was grandfathered in when I joined."

Renick gave me a long look. "Hmm. I suppose that make sense. I suspect that Emily would disagree, but I will mark it down on your file. Although I would appreciate if you at least tell us if you have any further ideas for modification to your runners, even if it is allowed."

"Thank you Deputy Director." I could at least be gracious about it. This would allow me more leeway in the future, even once Director Piggot returned.

He gave a slight chuckle. "Oh, no thanks are needed. With Emily gone, I have the authority to approve those marvelous trauma plates that you make. My only request in return is that you start making those plate makers immediately. Some of the other districts have already expressed interest, and it would smooth a lot of feathers if I gave one to the local Police department as well."

Ah I see, so this was a favour for a favour. I could work with that. After all, it's not like I was going to stop making equipment for people.

"Of course. Is there anything else?" He gave a ponderous shake of his head.

"Then I will go get started on the plate maker immediately."

He just had a slight smirk on his face as Chris and I left. I suspect that he and Piggot would have come to blows over the plate makers eventually, so he was probably pleased that he was in charge right now. If he could distract from the issue by bringing up my new authority to make mods to any of my existing creatures without approval, then that only benefited him.

Everybody wins.

Except Piggot.

o0O0o

I was finally in Boston.

My leader was making it's way down nearly empty early morning roads, occasionally sidestepping a car. My commandos were quartering the city in the air. If my runner _had_ been taken by Blasto, it wasn't alive any more. I could find no trace of it's mind with my network. I decided to look for Blasto's lab primarily by scent. As a bio-tinker he would be working with specific chemicals that might exist in a few other place in the city, but not together.

I finally caught a whiff of something with the commando that was closest to Accord's territory. I knew Blasto wouldn't actually be _in_ Accord's territory, since even the PRT knew that he kept his territory free of other villains, without fail. The PRT mostly left Accord alone, he was famously obsessed with order and neatness, so his territory actually ran smoother than any other place in the city.

I homed in on the smells of chemicals, bringing all of my strike team in closer, although I doubted that I would need more than one commando to make my point.

Landing in front of the locked and apparently abandoned building, I looked at the entrance, a locked metal door. I slid my bonesword through the gap of the door and brought it down, effortlessly shearing through the locking hardware and allowing me to open the door.

Ducking low, I entered and walked down the musty hallway in a slight crouch to avoid sticking my head through the suspended ceiling. It was a slight relief when Blasto's lab turned out to be a warehouse area with higher ceilings, so I could stand properly.

I could see Blasto sleeping on a cot at the side of his lab, while three of his creations dozed idly in heaps in the corners of the room. One of them looked like a simple lab assistant creature with more monkey features than anything else, but the other two were larger. I valiantly struggled not to scoff at his 'bodyguards'. They looked like a mix between large dogs with tree bark for skin, and a raccoon's hands for better dexterity.

If this is what Blasto was capable of, I was rapidly coming to the conclusion that he wouldn't have been _capable_ of stealing my runner, let alone having used the genes already. His guards would be much less pathetic for one. The fact that he managed a pre-approved kill order at all was testament to how much the system was biased against bio-tinkers, not his abilities.

This was a total bust. It wouldn't be worth the chance that Blasto was stupid enough to tell people about my increased capabilities, just to threaten him.

I elected to explore his lab a little, just to make sure, but I'm pretty sure I was barking up the wrong tree on this one. Nothing in any of the side rooms, nor any of the other areas off the main hallway. I decided to check his actual lab one more time on my way out.

I ignored Blasto's muttering in his sleep, just shrugging my shoulders and giving this whole trip up for a learning opportunity and nothing more. Back in to the hallway, I was almost to the door before I realized that the woman waiting in the doorway was probably there for me, but how could she know I would be here?

She was dressed in an elegant yellow costume, with a jeweled yellow mask covering her face. A cape then. She probably had some power that could detect me.

My hypothesis took a slight hit when I noticed that she was carefully observing the morning sun on the dusty floor, her eyes tracking where my feet had stopped when I noticed she wasn't a passerby on the sidewalk.

I was still deciding what to do when she spoke out. "Greetings Hive, I am Citrine of Accord's Ambassadors. Accord wishes to extend an invitation to speak with him today."

How?! How could he know that this was me? No one else had the slightest inkling so far as I was aware. I was not only completely invisible, I was in a body that no one else had seen.

Once again, Citrine started talking before I could make up my mind. "Accord told me to assure you that he has been discreet with the knowledge of your identity, although if you wish to know how he became aware, you will need to speak with him."

If Accord knew my abilities that well, I didn't really have a choice. I needed to know how he had found out, just in case someone else could do the same thing. On the plus side, Accord was known for always keeping his side of a deal, so long as you could account for his very exacting tastes.

"I accept. Although I will remain invisible until we are unobserved." There. Now we can see how deep the rabbit hole goes.

She just gave a curt nod and turned, apparently completely at ease. She either had a very strong power, or she was very overconfident. As we started walking, she explained a little bit about Accord. She didn't want an angry boss any more than I wanted to deal with an enraged villain that to all accounts was extremely good at making backup plans. If he already knew my identity, there were ways he could hurt me, even if I won the 'battle'.

"Accord is very exact. You will be meeting with him on the hour. _Exactly_ on the hour. Anything less will make him angry. Speak clearly, do not interrupt, and do not use filler words like 'um' or 'er' in your speech. If he asks a question, answer it directly and precisely. Do not prevaricate. Do not try to fill the time with chatter or useless information, stick to the topic being discussed. If you can do those things, without fail, you will never find a more polite conversation partner."

Apparently content with her warning, we walked the rest of the way in silence. When we got to the richly appointed Victorian house, Citrine just opened the doors and walked right in. When she had closed them behind me, she turned and looked expectantly. There were three other finely dressed people in colour coordinated masks in the room as well, evidently Accord's 'Ambassadors'.

With slight apprehension, I turned visible, my normal blue and gold coloration on display. One of Accord's Ambassadors gave a slight intake of breath, but that was it. No one else reacted to my appearance. I was just glad that the house had tall enough ceilings and a large enough entryway that I wouldn't be forced to stoop the entire time.

The room was extremely well furnished. Every piece a work of art in it's field, even the chairs. I looked to the sophisticated standing clock in the corner. Evidently I would have to go in soon, it was close to the hour. I wonder how much of that had been planned by Citrine, and how they managed to arrange things to occur so neatly, despite my sudden appearance in Boston.

Citrine led me to a set of dark wood doors, before turning to look at the clock on the nearby wall.

"Accord will see you now, please go in."

I made sure to time my entrance to exactly when the second hand struck twelve. No sense in making enemies already. Accord himself was a short man in a crisp suit, with perfectly parted oiled hair and a complex wood and silver mask that had hundreds of moving parts, to allow for facial expression to show through with the articulation.

As I stepped forward, I noticed that the seat on my side of the desk was larger than usual. It would be able to accommodate a variety of sizes of occupant, but it looked like it could accommodate someone of my size as well, which was unusual. There was even a tail hole in the back.

I took this as an invitation to sit, and sat neatly in the chair, before allowing myself to still perfectly and wait for Accord to speak. He seemed to be testing me in some way, so I simply held his look, and stayed still.

Eventually he gave a very slight nod and spoke in an even, unhurried voice. "No involuntary movements at all. Perhaps we can work together after all. I was afraid after my interactions with Blasto, I would be unable to abide by the presence of any bio-tinker, but it appears that is was just him personally. Do you have any questions before we begin?"

He was being polite so far, so I decided to try to return the gesture. "I am curious how you came to be aware of my presence in Boston, my stealth capabilities are quite good after all."

Once again, a slight nod. "After I became aware of the theft of your creature from the hands of the PRT, it made sense to plot out what your likely responses would be. I had Blasto's base watched in the event that my higher estimation of your capabilities was proven to be correct. Your suspicion of him was logical, if misplaced. I merely anticipated your response."

Ah, so he was waiting for me. That made sense, even if it was a little scary.

When I was sure that he was finished his thought, I asked my next question. "Your plan to talk to me makes sense, given knowledge of my precise capabilities, but how did you come to possess that information? I'm sure that even the PRT is not aware of what I can do."

He cocked his head minutely for a second.

"I gather you are unaware of your uniquely powerful anti-thinker abilities? Well, know that because my power does not gather any information for me, it merely allows me to plan using my best understanding of the situation, I can freely form complex plans that will _not_ simply fall apart due to your involvement. Information gathering through many sources is the least of my ongoing plans."

Is this what having a Thinker conversation was like? He had simultaneously let me in on an aspect of my powers that I may had suspected, but had no way to accurately prove, as well as given a warning that it wouldn't work on him. It was carrot and stick in one line. He was intentionally letting me know that he knew more about me than any other, as well as the fact that he could use this information to help me or work against me. I decided to try fishing a little, to see how much he knew, as well as give him a show of trust with privileged information.

"That explains the Simurgh's reactions. It was not merely my invisibility that she was responding to."

His face, through his mask, suggested that he knew the game we were playing. I got a look of acknowledgment. "Yes, she has never shown the need to rely on sight before, so her reaction to you was unprecedented. Why the PRT is under the impression that you have only one base despite being in operation since early January, I have no idea."

He had once again said several things with his statement. He acknowledged that he already knew about my place in the fight with the Simurgh, as well as more detailed information about my capabilities than anyone else had. But he was also demonstrating that he was discreet with the information, since no one else knew that it had been me.

I decided to move the conversation along. "My curiosity is assuaged. What is it that you would like discuss with me today?"

"Consider it a proposition. I have a task for you. If you complete this task, I will extend the favour of a single plan of your choosing to be designed by me."

There was something about the way he phrased that... Ah I see.

I finished the second half of his proposition for him. "And if I do not?"

I got a minuscule smile for my efforts. "Then perhaps I will be a little bit less discreet about the information that I have."

"I believe I understand. What task would you have me perform?"

He answered me with a question. "What have you heard of the Travelers?"


	35. 5-4

5.4  
o0O0o0O0o

"What have you heard of the Travelers?" Asked Accord.

I stared answering, even as I was looking up more information online. "They are a group of nomadic villains, at least four members, that have been blamed for several missing persons cases. There are reports of sightings of a large creature that correspond with their movements in several cities."

Accord nodded slightly. "Yes. And they are currently in my territory. I had thought that we had come to an _arrangement_ that was satisfactory, I even made them their current costumes as a parting gift. I believe that they were going to seek out Coil in Brockton bay, but when he left the city a few weeks ago, they decided to stay here. This is despite the fact that part of our _arrangement_ was that they would be gone from my city by now. They have been treading on my nerves, but if they were quiet and orderly, I would accept it. However, the missing persons cases have not been exaggerated. If anything they have been downplayed. Recently they have been... _interacting_ with the people in my territory, and I will not stand for this. I believe you are uniquely suited to dealing with the _problematic_ member of their group. My task for you is to deal with this member of their group before sun down. How you do so is up to you, but they must not remain in my city. I don't care what happens to the rest of them."

Sounded easy enough, if slightly mercenary for my tastes. "How will I know which member of the group to deal with?"

Accord paused in though for a second, deciding how to phrase something. "They are the one that has led to the 'sightings'. I believe you will know it when you see it. Here is their current address." He slid a piece of paper over to me with perfect handwriting displaying the address in question.

"I see. In that case, unless you have anything else, I will take my leave."

With his assent, I stood from the rather impressive chair and walked out. I wonder what was so special about this cape that he needed me to deal with them?

o0O0o

Just in case, I was bringing my entire strike team to the warehouse that the Travelers were evidently staying at. I nudged the large rolling doors at the rear open with a bonesword, before walking in with a commando. What I saw made me stop and stare. In the middle of the warehouse was... I suppose it was a centaur. From the waist up, a normal looking young woman, below the waist however... It was an entire slaughterhouse of misshapen meat of all kinds in a pile thirty feet tall. Heads, hooves, hybrid animals halfway between a wolf and a cow sticking their entire front half out of the mass. There were even mouths large enough to swallow a commando on the pile.

And it was evidently eating. I was dismayed when I saw a shoe on the floor, with half a leg still stuck in it. Now I knew why Accord wanted this dealt with today.

The rest of my strike team came in to the building. If this thing had been responsible for as many missing persons cases as appeared to be connected to the Travelers, and Accord had said that it was an _underestimation_... I'm not sure I could in good conscious let it go free to the next city.

I decided to try reasoning with it once. If that failed... If that failed, I was going to do my best to disable it permanently. Stop it from eating people, do enough damage that it couldn't chase anyone down.

Walking close, but staying invisible, I spoke in a clear voice. "Attention Travelers-"

That was all I managed to get out before the hulk of flesh charged my commando with surprising speed. I back stepped and swung my sword, but it just ignored the gash and crashed into me. The flesh of the creature parted around me as the mass rolled over me. The commando was suddenly surrounded by flesh, and was being attacked biologically. It was trying to induce hallucinations, or unconsciousness, or coma, or something similar. But a biological attack against me was a lost cause. I just started swinging my sword in the broadest arcs I could in front of me, cutting as much of the flesh as I could, but it seemed to heal almost as fast as I cut.

Just as I was thinking that was it, that this thing just consumed whatever came in contact with it, one of the massive mouths opened and spit out a warrior template. It wasn't my version, with its curving lines and clean surfaces, this was the original template, murderously mad and twice as alien. It was covered in spines and spikes at all angles and it was armed with a sword as well. Unlike my creatures, it was purple and a fleshy pink. Evidently it couldn't go invisible.

I touched its mind with my network. It was just as alien mentally as it was physically, with an overlay of obedience to this flesh creature of the Travelers. I had to end this quickly, the existence of this creature was a threat to humanity. The one thing that the flesh monster evidently hadn't accounted for was the fact that whatever its appearance, it was still designed to hook in to my network, and _I was larger_. I took complete control over it, the fragment of its mind that was slavishly loyal to the monster rebelled, but _**I was its mind**_ , so it understood on the same fundamental level that I did that its existence was a threat to humanity, and would work with me before it ended itself.

If it ever escaped my control range, it would go on a rampage the likes of which made Slaughterhouse Nine look tame, so I needed to end this threat. Only seconds had passed as I analyzed all this, my adrenal organs pumping at maximum. The door on the side of the room opened, the rest of the travelers rushing to investigate the noise.

Even as they made their way in at a glacial pace, I was stepping forward with the leader, swinging the sword in a broad arc, taking the human half off of the centaur with a crack of breaking the sound barrier.

The torso flopped uselessly to the side, unmoving, even as another human shape started regenerating out of the stump on the creature. My other two commandos and the warrior I had commanded opened up with their venom cannons, spitting the most corrosive and toxic rounds I could produce as my leader swung relentlessly with it's sword, cracking the sound barrier with every swing. The wounds it inflicted regenerating until I focused on the sword itself and _pushed_.

The multitude of mouths on the thing bellowed as the sword was biting in now.

Now that I had used the sword on living flesh, I could feel another ability that I hadn't known I had. When pushed through the sword, every swing was causing festering, desiccation, and shriveling, the energy somehow flowing _into_ the leader with every swing, revitalizing it.

 _These_ wounds weren't healing. I took another swing at the nearly human shaped blob of regenerating flesh on top, slicing it off again. This time it remained a stump.

The Travelers were finally in the room, and they were screaming at the sight of a ten foot spiked monster shooting at the blob of their former teammate.

Now that I saw that the sword wounds were the only ones that weren't instantly regenerated, I switched all of the commandos including the one still on the inside, and the warrior, to using their swords while _pushing_ through them with power _._ The flesh was coming apart faster than new flesh could appear, and none of the rents were healing.

I was making progress, when a sun appeared on top of the warrior, causing it's flesh to start smoking immediately. I saw one of the Travelers with an outstretched hand and a fire motif costume, likely the cause of the ten foot sphere of sun, which even now was causing the concrete to bubble and the monster's flesh to smoke by proximity.

I didn't stop swinging my swords, or move out of the way with the warrior. If they wanted to deal with the warrior themselves, I would use the opportunity to get rid of it. It kept swinging, even as flesh boiled off it's bones, carapace evaporated as the ablative layers were stripped away in the intense heat.

It understood it's fate, and accepted it with a wholeness of mind. It could see through my minds eye what would happen if the templates that I worked off were allowed free on earth, and it didn't end well for the earth.

Even as it's carapace sublimated away, it held steady to ensure that every part of it would be consumed.

My wounds had finally taken their toll on the flesh creature as well, with so much damage, my trapped commando had a chance to slice it's way out through the side facing away from the Travelers. The fleshy mass looked like it had gone through a paper shredder and even as I watched, parts started slumping inwards, or sloughing off in great wet chunks, only to start dissolving on the floor.

The mass finally stopped moving entirely, even as the sun winked out, revealing nothing left of the warrior, and only blackened flesh on the monster and melted concrete to show for it's existence.

The Travelers stood in total silence for several seconds before the one in a suit and top hat bent over to throw up, which caused two of the others to copy him and empty their stomachs as well.

"What the fuck happened?! What the fuck was that thing!" Screamed their apparent leader.

The steaming chunks of flesh were still breaking down, so I stepped out of range of the sludge that was making its way across the floor slowly, not wanting to leave footprints for them to find.

The other male in the group just nudged the one with flames on her costume. "I think you better clean that up Marissa. I don't know what hell Noelle spawned that thing from, but it took her to bits. We've gotta go before someone comes to investigate."

He received no reaction at all. 'Marissa' was still just staring in shock at the pile of disintegrating flesh.

He tried again, shaking her shoulder. "Marissa! Look, we've gotta go now!" Still no response, other than covering her mouth in shock.

Their leader turned to him and started yelling incoherently about Noelle. I couldn't follow any of it without context, and I didn't want to get dragged in to a fight with these people.

I just stepped out through the still open door. I would leave them to it. The problem was dealt with, and there wouldn't be any more 'missing persons'. I would have to be satisfied with that.

o0O0o

Standing once again in front of Accord's mansion, I lifted the knocker and let out three clear bangs to let them know I was here. Once I was let in, I once again decloaked, before turning to Citrine, who was working at a desk in the entryway.

"I would like to speak to Accord. I believe he is expecting me."

She nodded and brought me to his office door once again, pausing to look at the clock, before turning back to look at me. Evidently she was surprised that I had timed my visit to show up on the hour again.

She lightly wrapped on the heavy doors, before opening them for me when Accord called out from within.

"He will see you now."

Once again, I made sure to time my entrance to the second.

I came forward and sat in the seat that was made for me.

This time there was no waiting game. "I take it from your presence that you were successful?"

I simply nodded. He could know the details if he cared to ask for them, but I suspected he would not.

"Excellent. In that case allow me to offer my services for a single plan of your choosing. Unless you already have an idea as to what you want?"

I handed over the papers that I had spent most of the last hour preparing. It was a carefully handwritten report of all the details that I knew about the situation in Canberra, using my creature's exact muscle control to allow for superhumanly careful penmanship. I didn't want any of this information on a computer. It included all the background details like estimated population figures and the fact that I had Scramjet working for me as well as my tentative plans for bringing order to the city.

As he started flicking through my notes, I explained. "I would like help bringing order to the Simurgh quarantine city of Canberra. Given my apparent immunity to the Simurgh's sight, I think I am uniquely suited to the job, since my every action will destabilize her plans for the city and its inhabitants."

Accord paused in his reading to look up at me. He held the stare for long seconds before speaking. "I'm afraid that I can not accept the use of my favor for this plan."

I was about to object when he continued, and not in the direction I was expecting. "I insist on helping with this project free of charge. If you will bring all further plans of this nature to me, I will act to refine them for you. Please, leave my favour owed for now. Consider what you would like done as a personal project at a later date, but for bringing order to the world on this scale, I will not charge."

After a few stunned seconds, I managed to respond. "I understand."

I got a simple nod in return, much more expressive than his first interactions with me. "I thought that you might. I will leave you with my contact details. If there is nothing else for now, I will begin work on this plan."

Taking this as a dismissal, I nodded. I was about to rise when Accord spoke one more time. "Take care, Hive. I do not know what she is doing in the closed court sessions she has been attending, but Director Piggot is calling in all her political favours. If they are about you, it does not bode well for your status with the PRT."

I finished rising, then gave a slight bow with my massive frame. "I appreciate the warning. I will leave you to your work."

With that, I left. It was a very odd interaction, but I think I had a new ally. Strange times that the villain was being considerably more helpful than the PRT. I would try not to dwell on it.


	36. 5-5 Ad Lib Interlude

5.5 Ad Lib Interlude  
o0O0o0O0o

Charlie King was working on his case notes for the Williams case. He was pretty satisfied with how it had gone, so far. Full acquittal expected, but then again, that was practically par for the course. He couldn't promise perfect results, and he never had, but he had no problem emphasizing his near one hundred percent success rate either. There was a reason why he was so bloody expensive, and it wasn't his looks!

He tried to restrain himself to only work the cases that passed his personal morals test. If his potential client was best swayed by the argument that they should hire him because they were innocent and he could prove that, then they would get along just fine. If they were more swayed by the argument that he could make sure that they didn't do the time for their crimes, then he politely told them that he was very discriminating in who he took on as clients.

Just about done now. He had a few things left to do yet to finish the case properly, but he was certain that Mr. Williams would be a very satisfied customer. It had been a very messy case of self defense after all, a lesser lawyer would have tried for a confession with a reduced sentence.

He was just getting up from his desk when the Endbringer sirens rang out.

 _Damn. I had hoped to go to the courtroom one more time today, they'll be closed now._

Except the sirens didn't stop. They kept wailing. Filling his veins with ice. It was local.

Charlie rushed through his mansion to the front hall. He had to catch Oliver before he left for the shelters!

His racing pulse slowed a little when he spotted his bodyguard still preparing to leave. OK, how best to play this?

Convince Oliver to continue protecting me-  
-Offer him more money  
-Offer him favours, I am quite connected  
 _-Appeal to his long service to me_

"Oliver! Surely you aren't just rushing out on me? You've worked for me for more than a decade!"

Oliver looked scared, but mastered himself.

"You know my family comes first Charlie. It's been good working for you, but I've got to look after my own."

Charlie frowned. Try a different track then.

Convince Oliver to protect me for today-  
 _-He can go to his family afterwards_  
-He won't make it to his family in time anyway  
-I could make his life difficult if he left now

"Oliver, I know that your family is in the Belco shelter, but you can find them again once the attack is over. Just protect me during the attack, surely that wouldn't be too hard?"

Oliver looked resolute. "You can't convince me Charlie. I'll see if I can find you again after this mess is over. Goodbye."

A better result, but not what he hoped for. Charlie lamented the fact that his power couldn't supply the words for him, only show him which of the arguments _that he thought of_ that would work best. He was certain that there was some magic combination of words that would convince his bodyguard, but he didn't know them. Oh well, he had given it his best shot.

"Good luck and stay safe, friend. I hope your family is OK." He called out to the retreating back of his long time employee. Now, he had to get himself to the Civic shelter. Fortunately it was quite close.

o0O0o

The seemingly endless screaming in his head was finally over, the Simurgh had apparently left. The problem is that they were now packed in like sardines in the Endbringer shelter. Thousands of panicky people in an underground shelter just barely large enough to hold them.

And trouble was brewing.

"Look, if we just kill some of those rich fuckers, we'll have more food for everyone else."

It was perhaps inevitable that the crowds congregated in to groups of like minded people. When one of the more unhinged members of the crowd had spotted the group of politicians and lawyers wearing the suits they had fled here in, he had spotted his crusade.

Most of the crowd were just watching with wide eyes, but some of those more directly affected by the Simurgh were starting to nod their heads as if the logic made perfect sense.

Charlie frowned to himself. Perhaps he had best step in before this got messy. He was one of those in a suit after all.

He stepped forward, slightly bridging the growing gap between the groups of people and drawing every eye to himself. He focused on the group in front of him, more than a thousand people, and brought up his power.

As he started marshaling his arguments, he was once again thankful that time seemed to slow down when he was in a conversation. The more complex the situation, the slower time crawled by. With this many people, he would have plenty of time to come up with some good arguments.

Convince the crowd to calm down and stick together-  
 _-We have a better chance of surviving once we get out, with more people (203/1211)_  
-There is plenty enough food to go around, it isn't worth dying over (612/1211)  
-The crowd would be in danger of getting caught up in the fighting if some members attacked (140/1211)  
-The rich members would be able to damage the food, if they were being attacked (99/1211)  
-There were innocent children in both groups that would get killed if fighting broke out (157/1211)

Not for the first time, Charlie wondered how his power knew which argument would best sway the crowd. Especially in circumstances like this, when the most successful argument _wasn't_ the one that swayed the most people directly. Were the ones that would be convinced by the winning argument the ones who were most influential in the crowd, the most passionate, the most imposing? Perhaps, the winning argument was a very close second for many people, while the more intuitive choice would turn more members of the crowd away? In the end it didn't matter, only the fact that the argument _did_ have the best chance of swaying the crowd mattered.

"People! Don't listen to this madman. If anyone in the crowd is killed, we will have less people available for rebuilding. The more people make it out of this alive, the better chance we have of surviving the next month. An extra day's worth of food won't outweigh the cost."

Now he just had to convince the disheveled man in front of him not to wring his neck. But he was _good_ at convincing.

o0O0o

They were finally out of the shelters, and people were slowly making their way home. Oliver would want to stay with his family over in Belco, so Charlie either had to find a new bodyguard or move over to that neighborhood himself. With most of his resources and connections in Civic, he was inclined to stay here. Moving around too much in this sort of environment could just get you killed after all.

He would keep an eye out for a suitable person to convince.

Charlie was in the middle of picking his way through a portion of the town that had seemingly been simply flattened like a house of cards, when a man suddenly appeared in front of him. Ah! He recognized that cheap costume and rough appearance. It was Smash n Grab, a teleporter and local minor villain. If he could snag him, a powered bodyguard would be ideal.

First things first. Upon spotting him, Smash n Grab looked like he was preparing to teleport away again.

Convince Smash n Grab to stay here for the next ten seconds-  
 _-Yell his cape name_  
-Yell 'wait!'

"Smash n Grab!"

The cape turned, squinting to see if he recognized who was calling. Now Charlie just had to convince him to help. He was looking skittish though, subtlety would be required for this one.

Convince Smash n Grab to help-  
-Offer him money  
-Tell him I am a cape, offer favours  
 _-Offer to help him with what he needs_

OK, next step.

Convince Smash n Grab to help-  
-Offer to help him personally  
 _-Offer to help his family_  
-Offer to help his friends

Now to refine it a little bit.

Convince Smash n Grab to help-  
-Offer to help his parents  
-Offer to help his brother  
 _-Offer to help his sister_  
-Offer to help his child

"I can help your sister, I just need some help in return."

Charlie now held his full attention.

"How do you know about my sister?! Who are you?" He looked angry, but at least he wasn't attacking or teleporting away.

Convince Smash n Grab that he can trust me-  
 _-Explain my power and reason for using it_  
-Give a vague answer  
-Pretend to know his sister from somewhere

"I know which argument will best sway people, I knew that offering to help your sister would best convince you, just like I can use my power to help you and your sister. I'm just looking for a bodyguard. I can help you out a lot with my power."

Smash n Grab looked much calmer now, but still doubtful. "How come I've never heard of you if you're a hero?"

No need for his power with this one, the answer was simple enough. He didn't like to rely on his power for everything, lest he forget how to interact with people normally. "I'm not a hero, I'm a lawyer. I use my power to help innocent people go free when they are accused of crimes. I guess it makes me a Rogue. Technically my cape name is Ad Lib if I have to fill out paperwork for it, but I mostly just chose it as a joke. Call me Charlie."

At least Smash n Grab was looking more interested than threatened now. He leaned on the hood of a flattened car.

"Ad Lib? What's that mean? Some lawyer joke?"

"Ad Lib stands for Ad Libitum, when talking about speech, it means making something up on the spot, since that is basically my power."

Charlie was pretty sure that Smash n Grab was hooked, he just needed to get a little closer now.

"Why don't you tell me your name, and bring me to meet your sister, and I can see about helping you out. I'll want to go check if my mansion is still standing, but if it is, I bet it would be a much more comfortable place to stay than wherever you're holed up."

"Ah. I'm Zach. You sure you want to go see my sister? She's not much good with new people."

Charlie was making an educated guess that Zach was in desperate straits, based on his appearance and the fact that he was known for making money by stealing from the till of stores that were closed. Charlie was pretty sure that he would jump at the chance to move to better accommodations.

"Yes. Don't worry, I'm good with people."

Zach seemed to think for a moment, before nodding. "Alright. Let's head to your house first, so we can just teleport there if it's still there."

Charlie just led the way, it was a short walk from where they were, he was already almost home from the shelter when he spotted Smash n Grab.

On the way, he decided to find out about his new potential bodyguard's power. "So you can't just teleport anywhere? You have to have been somewhere first?"

Zach wobbled his hand a bit. "Sort of. I can teleport to anything that I've broken myself, but it makes the thing disappear, so I have to keep breaking things. I usually just rip a playing card in half, see?" He took a pack of cards out of his pocket, then took one out and ripped it in half, before throwing the halves. A second later he teleported to stand where one of the halves had ended up. When he stepped off, it was obvious that both halves of the card had indeed disappeared.

That had some disturbing implications... "So you could break a brick and make a building disappear? Or break a bone and make a person disappear?"

"Nah. It doesn't work on anything living, and it only works on the smallest whole bit of the thing, so if I break a brick only the brick disappears. If it's too big, and not made of smaller things that I can work with, it just won't work at all.

Once they got within sight of his house, Charlie let out a breath of relief that it still looked intact. Leading Zach inside, he tried to sell the idea of staying here with his sister. All the better to protect him after all. Zach seemed pretty impressed with the sort of dwelling an extremely powerful lawyer could afford.

"Wow, yeah, OK. This place is a lot better than the dump where we're staying. I'll go get my sister. He took out his pack of cards again before ripping several and scattering them in the entryway. Then he turned to Charlie.

"I can only teleport with what I can carry and I don't know you that well yet, so I'll be back with my sister."

With that he disappeared, while Charlie went to grab some food. May as well make a good impression.

A few minutes later, Zach reappeared with someone hanging off his back. Ah, the young woman had Down syndrome. He could see why Zach was protective of her.

Convince Zach's sister to trust me-  
-Tell her that I'm going to help them  
 _-Tell her that I'm with Zach_  
-Introduce myself

"Hi, I'm Zach's friend, Charlie."

Once she looked over to Zach for confirmation, her face became a lot less distrustful. "Oh. OK. Hello Charlie."

"It's good to meet you. Welcome to my home. Hopefully we can get along."

Now that he had a bodyguard, he just needed a way to secure a stable supply of food and he would be set for now. He was sure he could whip some people in to shape to get food being distributed a little better.

He just needed to find someone that thought they were in charge and convince them to let him direct a little bit. With Charlie serving as the broker between any disagreeing groups, he was pretty sure that they could find a peaceful arrangement. The sooner they could find a stable peace, the better chance he had of living to a ripe old age. Communications could be difficult, but having a teleporter would help with that.

After making sure his guests were settled in, Charlie started making plans. He would need to build closer ties with Zach to ensure that he stood with him if the going got tough, but he had a cheat sheet for that. After that, well, perhaps scout the neighborhood, see how many of his connections still lived.

Some people might have thought that getting quarantined was the end of the world, but Charlie chose to look on the bright side. His money might be useless now, but his power would let him build up his influence just as well in the new situation.


	37. 5-6 Smash n Grab Interlude

5.6 Smash n Grab Interlude  
o0O0o0O0o

Zach was talking with his new kind-of sort-of boss. He figured he should at least know what he was getting in to when he agreed to be the guy's bodyguard. So far it was an easy job, everyone was skittish and staying in their homes as much as possible.

They had been chatting about their lives. Or at least their lives before last Thursday happened.

"Yeah. I would have loved to do better work with my power, but we don't really have any Hero organizations that pay anything worth a damn, as I'm sure you know. If I had any skills before gettin' powers maybe I could have fallen back on those, but with my initial run in with the cops, it all sort of went downhill from there." He didn't really like talking about his past, but it kind of helped to get it out there to someone who understood it a little better than his sister.

Charlie was solemn. "Yes, that's one of the reasons I wanted to become a lawyer. Sometimes one bad interaction with the cops is all it takes to set someone to a life of crime. If I can step in and smooth over that initial incident, then the world is better off for it."

Zach was frowning. "Aren't there rules against people with powers becoming lawyers and such though?"

Charlie gave a conspiratorial grin. "Hah, I've had people say the same thing before, but I found a way around it. No one seems to be able to decide if I am a Master or a Thinker. I convinced the Bar Association that I was a Master, since Thinkers aren't allowed to try for their qualifications, and I convinced the courts that I'm a Thinker, since the use of Master powers on a Jury is illegal. It all works out in the end."

Zach was suddenly glad that his new friend was working _with_ him instead of _against_ him. He was pretty sure that Charlie could be an absolute _menace_ if he tried. It was a good thing he seemed to be pretty much on the straight and narrow. Zach decided to change the subject.

"How'd you end up as a lawyer anyway? I know your power would help, but was that it?"

Charlie had a fleeting smile, that turned into a slight grimace. "I've always wanted to be a lawyer actually. I was in my last semester when I caught the Dean sleeping with a student. He evidently thought that the easiest way to prevent his wife from finding out was to have me expelled and blacklisted from law school. I... _didn't take it well_." Zach felt a little sick to his stomach when he realized that the other cape was talking about his trigger event, most capes never talked about it, with good reason.

"When I realized what my powers could do, I talked my way back in to the good graces of the Bar Association and took my Bar, passed with flying colours. Of course, I also... Well. I'm not proud to admit it, but I talked my old Dean into committing suicide."

Zach looked a little shocked at his new kind-of boss. "Really?"

Charlie looked somewhat shame-faced. "Yeah. That's when I decided that I would only use my abilities to defend people who thought that they were innocent, never prosecute anyone or defend the guilty. It would be too easy to do otherwise."

There were an uncomfortable few moments until Charlie changed the subject.

"Oh! I got you a present. I think it will help you use your power easier." He handed over a spool of fishing line and a deck of cards with a hole all the way through the pile. It looked like Charlie had just used a hole punch on some normal playing cards.

Zach was just confused. He held the cards up to look through the hole. "Um. I don't really get it."

Charlie grinned. "Try tying the cards on to your belt with the fishing line, then you just need to rip one off and it's ready to go. You won't need to fumble in your pockets to find one anymore. Plus you don't need to spend the time ripping them."

Zach's eyes widened. "Cool, this will save a bunch of time. Thanks." He knew he wasn't always the sharpest knife in the drawer, but it looked like he didn't need to be. He wouldn't be the only one looking after his sister anymore.

Zach wasn't proud of his old life, robbing convenience stores of petty cash just to stay afloat. He only had him and his sister after all, and she couldn't bring in any money. He had always focused on the fact that he never hurt anyone, doing what he did, but maybe he could hope for something better. He knew that Zoe already liked it here more than their old dump. She got one of Charlie's guest bedrooms to herself, and she was already claiming pillows from all around the house as hers. Their old place was the best he could manage, but it still had pest problems.

Charlie had mentioned that he was hoping to go out and sort out the food situation soon, and Zach would do his absolute best to help him. He still couldn't wrap his head around that, how someone could decide to just _sort out the food problem_. As if it were some minor thing to be sorted out by dinner. Charlie was kind of squirrely looking, and a little overweight, but he had a way with words like nobody he'd ever met.

Zach had asked him why he didn't get married. With a power like his, he could probably get anyone he wanted to marry him. Charlie had just laughed, and asked, if Zach had his power, would he want to get married? It took him a while to get it, before he realized that his earlier thought that he could get anyone he wanted was probably more accurate than he had realized.

After a lunch of cans of tomato soup, Charlie had announced that he wanted to go see about the food situation. They would travel north to where the main road in to Civic intersected with the barrier fence since that was one of the most likely places for the food deliveries to be made. It had been more than a week since the attack, so the deliveries were likely to have started already.

Once he said goodbye to Zoe, and made sure she knew to stay in the house with the doors locked, they started making their way north. He had left a couple of cards in the house so they could fall back if they needed to, and his new favorite accessory was on his belt. He was wearing his cheap morphsuit and protective pads, but Charlie insisted on wearing a suit. 'To give the right impression.'

They were almost to the wall when Zach spotted something odd, and put out a hand to stop Charlie.

"Hey Charlie? I'm not just seeing things right? That uh... lady... really has four arms?"

Charlie had stopped as well, pausing to look around the neighborhood they were in. They were walking down the sidewalk of a mostly undamaged part of town, right near the border wall. Charlie had the interesting person fixed with a hard stare. Just behind them, a number of people were looking through boxes and discussing what was in them with wild gestures to different parts of the city.

Charlie spoke in a slightly off kilter voice. "Yes, and that's not all. My power doesn't work on her. At all. Not on her, or any group of people that includes her. I've never experienced anything like it."

Their apprehension rose when the woman turned their way when Charlie finished speaking. Zach was going to suggest that they just leave, but his partner decided to be bold and walk up to them as though he owned the street.

Zach made sure he at least had some cards in the area, ready to move around in a hurry if he had to.

"Greetings Smash n Grab, and would you be Ad Lib? I'm Myriad." Called out the grey skinned person.

"Yes, although I'm afraid you have me at a disadvantage. Are you from out of town?"

 _That's a polite way of saying it. She doesn't sound anything like a local._

"Yes, I came to Canberra to help with the recovery. I was actually hoping to track you down at some point, a friend of mine made some recommendations for speeding the recovery and you both fit into it if you're interested." Myriad Seemed to have a way with words as well. Not as perfectly chosen as Ad Lib, but very thought out.

"Actually I was hoping to talk about that. I see that you are starting to distribute food? I was hoping to have a word with whoever felt they were in charge of that."

Zach decided he would just keep an eye out, he could already _feel_ the conversation going over his head. He knew what he was good at, and fancy talk wasn't included.

"That's not really any specific person at the moment, although I'm doing some of the directing because I can communicate easier with some of the other communities." She gestured with a casual wave of one of her right arms in the direction of the people quietly squabbling over the food.

"Really? Do you mind telling me-" Zach shook his friend's shoulder. "Yes, Smash n Grab?"

"There's another one over there."

Charlie turned to look where he was pointing, there was indeed another grey skinned, four armed body heading their way. Charlie seemed to take it in stride, like everything else, but Zach was getting confused and worried.

Myriad decided to fill them in. "Were you going to ask how I stay in contact with the other neighborhoods? There's you explanation. There are currently a little over a hundred of me running around, and I stay in constant contact with all of my bodies, so staying in contact is easy. You're welcome to pitch in with deciding what's fair for distribution. Right now we have an easy job because there's a lot of food, and most people don't know about it, but that will change."

Charlie looked pleased to be involved, but Zach couldn't hold in his curiosity any more. "What's with the arms, and hair, and head? And did you say that there were a hundred of you!"

Myriad didn't look offended at his question, she just gave a grin at his incredulity. "Ah, well that's why I went in to a Simurgh containment zone to help instead of elsewhere. Between my ability to self replicate and my appearance, I'm afraid that the outside world is rather biased against me. I figured if anyone would understand it would be the people quarantined because of something they didn't do."

Ad Lib spoke up. "And it helps that you have a powerful anti-thinker effect. You might even be able to undo some of the Simurgh's plans."

Myriad smiled even wider at that, honestly it kind of creeped Zach out. "You know, you are the second person to notice that. Yes, that is part of my goal here. Right now we're figuring out what divisions of food are fair to give to which neighborhoods, but pretty soon we're going to run in to distribution issues. The plan that my friend gave me to help out has several backups for if parahuman help is unavailable, but it would take a lot of organizing and be less efficient."

Charlie was nodding along. "And what is your plan for parahuman distribution? I take it from the fact that you are bringing it up now that it has something to do with me?"

"Yes. I don't know if she survived, but Highline would be an absolute godsend for distribution. If I manage to track her down I would like your help in convincing her to join us. For that matter I would like to get Sinker on board as well, but she would be a lot harder to convince, being a villain. You would obviously be helpful there. No offense Smash n Grab." She finished her thought by gesturing in Zach's direction.

He wasn't really following, but Zach knew that they were talking about him in some way. Maybe how Ad Lib managed to talk him in to helping? "Uh. None taken?" May as well try to be polite, Charlie seemed to get along with her alright.

Charlie and Myriad walked off towards the group of people over by the food, with Zach trailing behind them. They had every appearance of enjoying their headache inducing conversation about neighborhood representatives and lines of dialogue. He was glad he wasn't in charge of this stuff, his job was just to make sure that Charlie made it out alright.

o0O0o

"Got another one for you, Smash n Grab!" Called out Myriad.

"Sure thing boss." He started heading her way. They were now operating out of one of the surviving government buildings in Civic. Charlie and Myriad had initially done some strange circling each other and talking in riddles dominance game about who would be in charge. Those had entirely passed Zach by, he was just glad that they had sorted it out. Now they got along great. The final argument had ended up coming down to something to do with her anti-thinker power and the Simurgh's influence. Now Zach worked for both of them. Myriad provided extra defense for Charlie in exchange for Smash n Grab's time.

"Woden has some spare antibiotics, and Gungahiln needs them bad, more of their facilities got flattened." She directed him, pointing to a map.

Zach nodded, then focused on his 'flags'. He could feel the ones that Myriad had brought to Woden after he had ripped them. He picked one that was near the middle of Woden and teleported.

Myriad was also standing there ready for him, handing him a box of medicine which he took with him on his next hop.

Turns out that Myriad had bodies all over the place, but she couldn't move stuff from one side of the city to another like Smash n Grab could. So while she provided the communication necessary, he was the courier. Charlie was just having fun ordering people around.

So far as Charlie and Myriad could come up with, the Simurgh's plan for Charlie had been to have him become increasingly dependent on his power, and paranoid for his safety. Eventually it would have led to him persuading armies of people to charge the walls, trying to break out. Zach could testify to how powerful Charlie was at persuading people, he had seen him talk down a mob with a few words yesterday. They had been getting worked in to a frenzy, planning on hunting down people that had reacted poorly to the Simurgh's song, in an attempt to 'foil her plans'. Charlie had calmly told them how they should look at themselves first, before deciding to kill anyone else. After a few tense seconds of sizing up the other members of the mob, they had dispersed. Zach was pretty sure he could have tried to deliver the same lines a hundred times and only pissed them off.

Overall things were running amazingly smoothly for just being hit by an Endbringer. They were starting to run low on some basic supplies, and power and water were still out, but life could be worse.

Now he just had to convince Zoe that he deserved to keep at least one pillow in his room for sleeping on.


	38. 5-7

5.7  
o0O0o0O0o

With my strike team in Boston done, I had sent them back to Brockton Bay. Since they got back yesterday, I was deciding what to do with them. Accord had set me up with an email account on a very well protected service before I left, so that we could keep in touch. I was keeping him appraised of the progress in Canberra, and he occasionally sent me a minor update or correction based on the new information. The biggest improvement so far had been how fast we were moving forward on Scramjet's workshop. It was now a true tinker's workshop. Minimally stocked and shy of some of the more elaborate equipment, true, but it was now self powered and capable of turning out whatever project Scramjet wanted.

Right now, he was working on building himself a sophisticated prosthetic arm. In addition to functioning as regular hand, it had a small compressed air tank from a paintball gun so it didn't need external connections. It also had a bevy of integrated tools and a single shot, last ditch air gun.

As far as the favour from Accord goes, I eventually decided to get his assistance crafting a plan to catch the ones who had kidnapped my runner. Since his planning grew better the more sophisticated the problem, I also added the conditions that I should be able to do it without being detected by any uninvolved parties and be able to get revenge on the group that took it.

He responded that he would get back to me with an appropriate plan by the end of the week.

I figured that I would leave my strike team in the bay for now, to see if their presence would be required for Accord's plan. It they were not, I would send them out with the new planters that would be emerging tomorrow. I didn't mind delaying my cross America base building road trip by a day or two in order to escort them with some better firepower and the ability to remain linked with my network.

I would send the first three planters out across America with an escort of a commando each, and the next batch of three would start across the sea floor. My leader, I decided that I would let go hunting. The Slaughterhouse Nine had kill orders on them, and I figured I would be able to take several of them out before the leader died. My biggest concern was that I would be identified by the corpse of the leader, but if it came to that, I would simply point out that it wasn't field use, it was a personal project. Under normal circumstances it would never fly, but the bureaucrat that thought they could get me in trouble for killing some of the Slaughterhouse Nine would have to be a special kind of stupid.

If revealing some of my capabilities was the price for taking out some of the Slaughterhouse Nine, I thought that would be a pretty good compromise. Besides, it was just as likely that Crawler would decide to eat the corpse. Maybe I would try to leave him for last so that I could be more sure of that happening?

I was mostly letting these thoughts distract me from school. It was Monday, and classes dragged by for my human body as I mostly withdrew my awareness form that body altogether. It was only fair to give the other students in the class a fighting chance after all. Withdrawing my awareness in this way actually made the body _more stupid_ than if it were disconnected from my network entirely. I was still running my network on its brain, using up some of its capacity, but I wasn't using that network to run the body at all. I estimated that the human-shaped body that was sitting in class was only slightly dumber than I had been before I got my powers.

My attention snapped back to the body in class when the lunch bell rang. Making my way to the cafeteria, I smiled when I saw Amy waiting at the Wards lunch table for me. She didn't get along great with the other Wards, but I was pleased that I had finally managed to convince her that sitting with her sister's friends wasn't helping with her mood. Amy was rather introverted, and for all that Vicky and her friends were friendly and cheerful, I'm not sure they even _knew_ the word introvert. I think what had finally convinced her today was that Dean was sitting with Vicky today, instead of at the Wards table. Amy might not get along with _most_ of the Wards, but she _really_ didn't like Vicky's boyfriend. She had apparently mellowed on the issue a little since I had joined the Wards, but she still didn't like to be around him. I just tried not to pry, and she seemed to appreciate it.

I was the last one to the table, since my classroom before lunch was on the third floor on the other side of the school. As I approached, Amy gave me an imploring look that I understood immediately. Dennis was on one of his usual tangents, and making jokes at the expense of everyone else at the table. The other Wards would put up with it, but Amy had no patience for it. On my way to my seat, I dropped a hand on Dennis' shoulder and _squeezed_ a little bit. He would have jumped in his seat, if I weren't holding him down.

"Perhaps that's enough of the jokes for now Dennis. It doesn't look like everyone else is enjoying them as much as you are." I kept a level voice, letting him know that I wasn't joking. Dennis was usually in good humor, but he never really knew, or cared where the line to stop was.

I was glad when after making a protesting sound, he looked at my face, and decided not to pick an argument over it.

"Thank you Taylor, it was getting a little tiring." Carlos spoke up, staying diplomatic about it.

I got a relieved smile from Chris as well. He wasn't really good at sticking up for himself very well, and Dennis could get under his skin without meaning to.

I wouldn't call Dennis a bully exactly, he never meant any harm by his jokes, but it was good for him to have others around him that could enforce the boundaries a little. Or perhaps more than one person. With just me, or just Carlos trying to reign him in, it didn't always work.

Amy budged over a little to allow me room to sit. "Hey." She spoke just loud enough to be heard over the cacophony of the lunch room.

"Hey, yourself. I see you finally decided to take me up on the offer of a seat over here. I would ask if there were any particular reason, but I can guess." This got me a brief smile.

"Yeah. But more than you think. I wanted to ask you about the 'project' we've been working on. Have you got all the paperwork done for it?" She sounded a bit like she was trying to avoid getting her hopes up. It had been well over a week after all, so I really should have by now.

I grinned at her. "Not just that, but according to Chris, I wouldn't be surprised if the approval for it comes in some time today. After you signed for it, it only needed the final step of the approval process. It might already be done, I just have to go pick it up after school."

She looked surprised. "Really? It would go that fast? Not that I'm complaining, but I had thought-"

Shaking my head, I tried to explain it to her. "Amy, I don't think you realize how valuable that stuff will be. You can stabilize a patient easily, but for normal first responders, getting a wound dealt with so that the patient is safe for transport is a huge deal. It would be political suicide to hold up the process getting that spray approved once you've already signed off on it. Your name carries a lot of weight, partially _because_ you don't throw your name around much."

She seemed to think on that for a moment. "Huh. Well, the reason I wanted to ask you about it was to see if you would mind going to the hospital with me on the weekend after it gets passed and introduce it to the staff. With the merchants acting like angry hornets the past two weeks, there have been a lot more gunshot wounds coming through the doors lately and the spray would be a big help for taking some of the load off of me. If you think it will be done this week, would you mind coming in with me on Saturday or Sunday?"

I nodded as soon as she finished her question. "No problem. I'll make sure I have some of the production units ready by then so they can start spitting out the spray bottles. I'll let you know by the end of the week whether Saturday or Sunday will work out better."

Now I had something to look forward to this weekend.

o0O0o

After school, I headed straight to the PRT HQ to check if my approvals had come through. Turns out that I was almost correct that the medical spray would come through before the taser balls. I ended up getting both of them, plus the tranquilizer approved over the weekend. I texted Amy to let her know that we were on for the weekend.

I started on the medical spray station. If supplied like the police net gun machine, it would spit out another spray bottle every day. I had some interesting ideas for a tree that would grow medical foam fruit, but that would be a future project.

The taser balls were authorized for general patrol use, while the tranquilizer was only authorized on certain targets. Essentially it boiled down to anyone with a kill order, or the local villains with regeneration. In practice that meant that I would only get to use it on Lung or Night. Anyone else who it would be safe to use it on, like Alabaster, it wouldn't be effective at any rate.

Just in case I got the opportunity to use it on Lung, I started growing an armour piercing injector. I figured I could submit the paperwork for it on the weekend, but I would need a copy to send in for testing.

I also decided to stop by and see how Chris was doing with his alternator Cannon. So far it was still mostly the frame, with some internals fleshed out already, but he said that it was coming a lot faster now that he knew his specialty.

Now I just had to wait for Carlos to show up, and I would be ready to patrol.

o0O0o

In Canberra, I finally had enough infiltrator bodies that I felt comfortable tracking down Sinker again. With more than two hundred bodies around the city, each one only had a few square kilometers to search for a scent before I found her. When I knew she was close, I let the body with Smash n Grab and Ad Lib know. Smash n Grab brought Ad Lib to north Tuggeranong, which the closest 'flag' he had. After they arrived, I led Ad Lib to where she was, then backed off so that my powers wouldn't interfere with his.

It was only fifteen minutes later that a nervous looking Sinker came out of the house, followed by a smiling Charlie. He walked up to introduce us.

"Myriad, meet Sophie aka Sinker. Sophie, meet Myriad. She's the one I told you about."

I gave her a handshake and a closed mouth smile.

She looked to be a little nervous still, but at least she was willing to hear me out. "So you're the one who spoke to me the other day? The invisible one?"

Both Charlie and Zach looked at me. They had heard that I approached Sophie, but not that I was invisible. How to explain this...

"Sort of. That was Invisible Man, we work together, but he's not around as often. I can get him to come and meet you to apologize for the other day if you want though."

She didn't look enthused by the idea. "No. No thank you. I'm fine if he just stays away from me. Charlie said there was something I could help with?

Nodding, I started explaining, as we walked back Scramjet's workshop in Civic.

On the way there I was explaining to Wesley what I wanted. If we could just get a proof of concept to work, I was sure that we could convince Sinker that her help was essential to helping rebuild the community.

Once Sophie and I arrived, Wesley came out to greet us. Sophie stared. I think it was the missing arm.

"Hi Sinker! I'm Scramjet, I have a small set up over here for something we'd like to test with your power if that's alright?"

He led her over to the side of the garage, where he had set up a small box with fine, clean sand packed tight in the box. There was a swirled depression in the sand that held the specific shape of a complex part that Scramjet wanted for one of his most efficient compressor designs, but so far he didn't have the tools necessary to cast the parts with the required tolerances. He could make the molds, but he couldn't cast them without impurities ruining the strength necessary for the high speed part.

He held a chunk of high grade aluminum, ripped out of old medical equipment.

"Could you please melt this metal into the mold for me?" He asked with a smile. Wesley was excited to work with Sinker, it would make many of his largest projects possible. When I had told him about the possibility, he had seen the implications immediately.

Sophie still had a distracted air about her, but took the aluminum scrap and held it over the mold. It dribbled through her hands, filling the mold to slightly overfull. Wesley just scraped the excess liquid off with a metal ruler. As soon as Sinker removed her hands from near the box, Wesley eagerly dug the part out of the sand and inspected it, brushing off some sand.

"Yes! It worked perfectly! This will be a huge help. Especially with the windmill project. I've never heard of cast wood before, but it should work just fine for making the large blades out of a solid piece of wood." He was grinning at the part, still examining it from every angle.

Sophie finally spoke up. "Oh? Would you mind telling me about your project? It sounds interesting."

It looks like the two of them had already forgotten I'm here. I'm fine with that, they were going to be working together quite a lot in the future.

Cast wood. What a novel concept. Although, like all of Accord's ideas, I bet it works.


	39. 6-1

6.1  
o0O0o0O0o

Since Accord mentioned that he would be willing to help with any plans that enacted large scale order on the world, I send him an email about my tentative plans to kill the Nine. There was some information available about their current members online, but I figured he would have much better sources.

In order to allow him to make a better plan for actually killing them I also included slightly altered descriptions of my current capabilities. My venom cannon was described pretty much accurately, but my boneswords were 'swords with the ability to negate regeneration' and my psychic scream was 'a mental interference attack that causes debilitating neurological damage'. I wasn't going to tell him that it was actually psychic, let him draw whatever conclusions he wants.

I was on my way home after patrol on Wednesday when I saw an ongoing fight between the ABB and the Empire. 'Fight' might have been slightly overstating it. Anything Lung was personally involved with would inevitably end up as a retreat, unless there were a lot more capes on the other side. I actually spotted the fire first. It looked like the fighting had started in ABB territory, which means that it had likely been an attempt at grabbing territory that Lung had been close enough to personally repel.

Most of the Empire forces had already retreated, but Alabaster was fighting Lung in a delaying action. I saw him fly through a wall, thrown by lung, only to reappear pristine and uninjured a second later. He drew his newly regenerated pistols and started taking pot shots at Lung's face again. It looked like he was actually being smart about it, only fighting Lung enough to keep his attention away from the rest of the retreating Empire, but not quite enough to allow Lung to ramp up further. Lung was already quite large, eight feet tall and covered in armoured plates, wreathed in coiling flames.

If it had been just those two cape in a vacuum, fighting to their hearts content, I would have been happy to ignore it. I was already invisible after all, so they never even needed to know that I was here. The problem was that Alabaster was retreating towards my block, and Dad would already be home at this time of night. I needed to step in to stop this. Deciding that it would be easier to ask for forgiveness than permission, I decided to call it in to the PRT only once I was already engaged in the fight. I only had one swooper with me anywhere nearby, but I started drawing my forces from around the city. My main hope was that I could slow Lung down enough to allow the runner that was even now equipping itself with my armour piercing injector to make it to the fight.

Lung had better hope that my tranquilizers worked on him, because the alternative was to start slicing him to ribbons with my commandos. I would save that for a last resort though.

The first thing I did was shoot a net at him from the air with my swooper. Alabaster took advantage of his distraction to shoot him in the face a couple of times, before running off. Evidently he decided that I would provide a better distraction than him.

The net only wrapped around Lung's torso and head, but it looked strong enough to restrain him at least. His metal scales were showing score marks where he was straining against the net. While he was struggling with the net, I fired one of my new taser rounds at him, hitting him in the back and causing him to let out a sustained grunt as it discharged into him.

I was calling it in while he worked on breaking the net, flames flaring higher around him as he tried to burn it as well.

"Hive to PRT headquarters, currently engaged with Lung. Please send backup."

Lung's flames were causing the net's epoxy to blacken and bubble. As soon as any particular spot grew too thin, the carbon structure underneath would glow brightly for a second before burning through. Lung was starting to break free.

"This is PRT console, disengage. Help is on the way, over."

I fired another net at lung, but with the increased intensity of fighting, he was already growing again. Nine feet tall and rising, the net still wrapped around his torso, but it was less effective at restraining him. He was starting to look around for his attacker, sending blasts of flame in various directions, trying to get a response.

"Negative console. There is a real and present danger to civilian life, I will continue with delaying him."

His flames were increasingly hot, and increasingly large, the second net wasn't lasting nearly as long as the first.

"I'wwll kwwlll yoooo!" Lungs increasingly inhuman mouth had trouble forming the words, but I could still understand his meaning just fine.

In lieu of answering, I fired a third net, even as the second was breaking down.

Lung was now pacing up and down the street, his legs totally unimpaired. He was watching the skies carefully now, letting out great plumes of fire to try to tag my swooper. Third net already burning off, I fired my fourth, I was starting to run out and my other creatures were still a ways away. The instant I fired he swung around at the sound and let off a huge gout of flame in the direction of my swooper, the middle of his fire now blue hot. The net was half burned by the time it impacted him, so I swung around and fired from a different angle, only two nets left now.

Lung was now ten feet tall and still growing ever thicker armour. He elected to ignore the last net that hit him other than to increase the fire around him, it had only managed to restrain his left arm this time.

"Comm oooot nnnd **fighhht me!** " Lung bellowed.

Firing my last two nets in rapid succession, the vehicle net managed to almost completely envelop him, causing him to fall over as his legs tangled.

He hunched over, straining at the nets, while his fire was starting to burn white hot. My last net had only delayed him a few seconds. I decided I needed to start distracting him until my other creatures could get here. My two other swoopers were close though, they could fly quite fast. My circling swooper revealed itself, letting out a scream to get his attention. He instantly turned and leaped at it, but I was far to agile in the air for him to hit. His leap carried him past my swooper, and I dove around to hit him with another taser round in the air.

It only managed to make him twitch for a second, but that was enough to make him land awkwardly.

He picked himself up and let out a white lance of fire, but I just avoided it.

Lung was clearly annoyed, but he wasn't stupid, he realized that there wasn't anything left that the swooper could do to him at this point. He elected to start walking towards the nearest house, burning brightly, threat clear. Fight him properly, or he would start burning the neighborhood.

My other swooper had finally arrived, and my two runners were getting close. The one with the tranquilizer would still be a minute away.

I decided to distract him myself, to get a better shot at him with my still invisible swoopers.

"Hey Lung!" He wheeled on the source of my voice instantly, starting to charge in my direction.

"What's the matter, can't even fight a Ward?"

He was shockingly fast for a twelve foot armoured monster, not that I had any space to complain on that front. I was still invisible, so I evaded his charge easily enough. I fired nets at him on the way, but they were getting increasingly useless against him by this point.

Lung was crafty though, as soon as he was standing where my voice had come from, he let out a great burst of fire in every direction, head whipping around to see what the response would be. As soon as he saw the space in the fire where I was evading, he turned and leaped, tearing chunks out of the road with his acceleration.

I jerked to side, but his hearing was evidently up to the challenge of locating my footsteps. He managed to grab hold of my left arm, and bracing himself against my body, he pulled against the strength of my armour.

Hmm. That's inconvenient, he tore my arm off.

Wait.

What.

I retreated as soon as he lost his leverage, my swooper gliding down behind him to snag my arm so I could reattach it later. I opened up with all three swoopers, and the newly arrived runners, just trying to delay him a couple of seconds at this point. My tranquilizer runner was almost here.

With my human body retreating from the fight momentarily, I had a second to think about the fact that I had just lost an arm and found it a mild inconvenience. I knew that my power had been changing me mentally, but this was a noticeable jump in inhuman thinking. If this body were all of me, I would be more concerned with the directions my thoughts had taken, but it was so _small_ compared to my mind these days. Maybe that was part of the problem. Knowing that I could just grow another human body at will was causing me to start to disregard human scale risks. I would need to be careful to avoid losing that perspective entirely.

My tranquilizer runner had finally arrived, leaping twenty feet to tackle Lung. The armour piercing injector worked flawlessly, pumping the mix of sedatives, relaxants, tranquilizers, and paralytics into his body.

Lung took a swing at the runner, knocking it flying, but it was too late. He grunted, trying to flare his fire hotter to keep himself alert, but he was already slowing. His fighting was impressive, but ultimately futile as he slowly fell to his knees, then on to his face as the tranquilizer took effect. His scales started retreating and he started shrinking as all the fight left him.

I called it in. "Hive to Console, Lung is down, I tagged him with one of my tranquilizers, headed to my base to repair the damage I took."

"Console acknowledges, Armsmaster is almost there. Do you require emergency services for yourself or any civilians?"

Hmm. Right. My arm. "I should be fine by tomorrow, no civilians that I can see, but I know there was a running battle north of here, so there may be injuries there."

"Acknowledged. You can fill out the incident report for an off duty encounter tomorrow."

With the niceties dealt with, I had a swooper wrap around my back and carry me to my base, I would need to reattach my arm before I let my dad see me.

As I was laying down, out of my armour, letting my healing do most of the work, I was also reading over the reply that Accord had sent me about taking out the Slaughterhouse Nine. I got a shock when I noticed how many of his warnings were things I had discounted. It's not that I hadn't seen the possibilities, I was a Thinker as well after all, it was that I had simply _disregarded them._ I knew that killing my leader wouldn't harm me in any real capacity and that Bonesaw's current plagues had little to no chance of working on me, so I had dismissed their importance. But I had also neglected the effect on the human population if one of her dead man's switch plagues was released.

Getting a proper partner to act as a check and balance to my powers and mentality moved up several notches in importance in my plans. When I was thinking about how stable my current personality was, I hadn't accounted for how much my viewpoint had already shifted by the time I started making plans for my own counters.

Accord could work as a sounding board and a rough check for some of my plans for the near future, but while he had the power necessary to work against me, he didn't have the morals. He was very uncompromising, true, but his morals were not the principals that he stood upon as his rock. His bastion was order, and morals were a distant second concern to him.

I decided to set myself a loose deadline of a year from now to find someone to act as a balance for myself. If I hadn't found the right candidate by then, I would settle for working with one of my second picks. Accord was one, Amy was another. While Amy had a strong sense of morals, and a strong _personal_ power, she wasn't resolute in the same way that Accord was. I was afraid that leaning on her for moral guidance would end up shifting her more than it grounded me. It was probably something we could work on improving in her, but it would also change who she was.

I put the idea to the back of my mind for now, there wasn't much I could do about it at this exact moment.

Instead, I distracted myself with rereading the email from Accord. From his word choice, he was simultaneously happy to be planning another large improvement to the world, and annoyed that I had such a simplistic initial plan. The word choice of 'lest you endanger our working relationship' let me know to be a lot more careful before bringing anything to Accord for refining. I didn't want to piss him off, since he was one of the very small handful of capes who would be effective against me, so I decided to make sure I had a good plan ready to bring forward before bothering him in the future.

I didn't want to wear out my welcome to bring plans to him for improvement, since he was such a valuable resource for that.

The initial warnings for taking out the Nine were about what you would expect. Engage them when they were traveling to avoid hostages, as well as being separate from Crawler, since he often met up with them once they had arrived somewhere. Make sure that Bonesaw was taken out by surprise first, before she had a chance to unleash a plague, and make sure that her biological dead man's switch would be rendered ineffective. Ensure that I had a plan ready for if Hatchet Face could negate my connection to my creatures with his power negation aura. And of course stay the hell away from the Siberian, other than testing my mental power on her, there was literally nothing I could do that would affect her.

Overall, it was essentially a warning not to run off half cocked, while he had a chance to refine a proper plan of attack against them. I decided to heed his implied warning, and shelved my plans for the Nine for now. I would wait for better intel. In the meantime I would work on cleaning up the bay, and using my three brand new planters to start widening my range around the Bay area. I could go on my road trip once I got the plans for finding my runner tomorrow.


	40. 6-2

6.2  
o0O0o0O0o

After school on Thursday, as soon as I came in to the PRT building, I was called to Deputy Director Renick's office. He wanted to debrief about my fight with Lung.

He ended up being pretty reasonable about the whole thing. I think he was just happy to have Lung in custody, regardless of how it happened.

Lung was currently being kept in one of the secure cells on the Rig, awaiting trial for his various crimes via remote presence due to his significant flight risk and danger to the courts.

One thing that the fight with Lung had shown was how shockingly effective a proper tranquilizer could be. It totally ended a fight where I had very few remaining non lethal options in my arsenal. I decided it would be worth pursuing better alternatives more aggressively. An idea I had been kicking around for a while was approaching Faultline's Crew at their nominal base at the Palanquin night club. It was somewhat of an open secret that they were there, and the PRT mostly ignored it because Faultline didn't kick up too much fuss, and it was probably covered by the Unwritten rules. I knew that Newter supposedly had a debilitatingly powerful hallucinogen that he excreted from his pores, but I had held off going because it might be based entirely off of powers, like Aegis' 'biological' redundancy was.

Ultimately what decided me was the fact that, while I had templates for some of the most potent poisons and virulent viruses imaginable, my templates just didn't have any non lethal options to speak of.

I texted Amy to let her know that I would be ready to go to the hospital with her on Sunday. I would be reserving Saturday for trying to negotiate with Newter, or possibly Faultline, since she was his boss. I had a few ideas for what I could trade, but my first choice would be developing a counter agent to Newter's hallucinogen if it was based in biology. Since Newter could never turn his powers off, he effectively couldn't touch anyone in less than a hazmat suit, so gaining the ability to do so would be worth a lot to him. I was confident in my ability to make a counter agent to a known biological molecule, and I would point out that I would need the counter agent as well, so I would have every reason to follow through on my end of the deal. All he would have to do is supply me with a sample.

I was working on building another trauma spray machine, and thinking about what it would take to make a machine, that would make a machine, that would make trauma spray bottles. If I wanted to distribute them wide enough to make a difference, it was worth looking in to, although it also skirted a little bit too close to 'self replication' for my comfort.

Oh! Accord's plan for finding those responsible for my missing runner had finally arrived in my email inbox.

It was... quite detailed.

The first section looked to be for completeness sake only. It listed steps to try before moving on to the more complex parts of the plan. Most were obvious, like sending out a return signal, but I had done or attempted all of them.

The most interesting suggestion was to try to build something that could send off a powerful enough signal to get a return from my creature, regardless of it's location. Unfortunately the issue was on the receiving end, with the runner itself, so no amount of boosting the signal would help. I still appreciated that the plan laid out all the simple steps first though.

Next were the steps that started having costs or negatives associated with them. Some chance of detection, or some chance of losing an additional creature, or what have you. Each subsection came with warnings along the top, detailing exactly what the potential consequences of following through with it would be, as well as which part of the plan to turn to in order to deal with specific issues that could crop up. 'If detected whilst performing this action, turn to subsection 12 to see the list of ameliorating steps, before continuing.'

It took me over half an hour to read through the broad strokes of the plan, but I liked the prospects. The first stage boiled down to making a tempting enough Trojan horse that it would be abducted. There were recommendations for desirable traits as well as a list of actions to perform in order to elevate the chances of a 'successful' kidnapping.

The motives behind the original runner being snatched were important here. The most likely culprits were, in order: the PRT trying to work in more restrictions to my creations, a group that relied on powerful Thinkers looking to study and neutralize my anti-Thinker ability, and a fellow Tinker looking to learn from my creations. For all three, teleportation was the most likely mechanism of abduction, although there were follow ups for if it was a very powerful Master or Stranger effect instead.

To try to cast my net wide enough, and make the bait attractive enough, I should make a new creature that had new and interesting abilities, that would also potentially explain my anti-Thinker effect. That would cause it to rouse the interest of any of the parties that was likely responsible for the first kidnapping.

It needed to be able to stay in contact with me, even if it got abducted into a pocket dimension like Toybox's Tinker lab. There were more plans for what to do if my creation got separated from me anyway, but most of them came with other costs associated with them, such as making my attempt to find the culprits more obvious.

Between all the potential ways included to get my new creature kidnapped, I was pretty sure it would succeed, but there were even follow ups for if the responsible group elected to have nothing more to do with me. The main cost for those plans were that they took much longer to get any results, potentially years before I would have a satisfactory answer.

Now that I had a plan, I needed to overcome two issues in order to begin.

First, I needed a way to stay in contact with my creature even if it got abducted via exotic teleportation to another planet or another Earth. Part of the solution was simple, if time consuming. I currently had the ability to contact a synapse creature anywhere on Earth, but I would need to build one of the relays that allowed contact anywhere in the _galaxy_ if I wanted to be secure on the distance front. There weren't any real intermediate relay sizes available, and to be honest, I didn't feel like downsizing one for this. That meant it was finally time to look in to the spaceship templates. They were the only ones large enough to host the necessary relay organs which were several tons by themselves. When my seafaring planters were complete next week, I would accompany each of them with one of the commandos that were going to be finished in my underground base at around the same time. They would travel down the continental shelf far enough that I wasn't afraid of being detected, then they would start planting seeds close together. These would eventually grow into one of the smaller command spaceships, only 250 meters long. It would take more than a month and a half to grow, but it would allow me nearly unlimited range. I had no problem leaving the spaceship on the seafloor indefinitely to avoid detection.

The other half of the problem was with the _exotic_ part of the teleportation. If my enemies had access to other Earths, like Earth aleph, or even a pocket dimension, it would totally cut me off. I would be looking up the design documents available to Protectorate Tinkers of Professor Haywire's stuff. He had managed to contact Earth aleph over twenty years ago, and I could potentially understand some of the math necessary to replicate the rudiments of his tech. Out of curiosity, I pulled some of it up on the small terminal in my lab. The math was complex. Very, very complex. But I could probably figure out some of it by the time my ship was done.

I didn't know whether or not I would be able to modify my connection to work with parallel realities, but I had high hopes.

The Second issue was coming up with a creature that would be tempting enough to take. The most interesting aspect of Accord's plan was that in order to make it a more tempting target, one of the later stages involved trying to get the creature past the Tinker approval process. This meant that the consequence of _failing_ to get kidnapped was that I was very likely to end up with a new and interesting creature to add to my official arsenal.

With that in mind, I decided to pick one of the more exotic templates. After more than a month of focusing on unraveling the exotic neural structures and the effects they could have, I was pretty sure I could successfully build one of the templates that had powers of it's own. Not just had powers, but relied on them for functioning. When I first looked at the template, I was confused by the huge brain, with essentially vestigial body. There was no way it would ever be able to move under its own power. The thing I was overlooking was that its own power extended far beyond what you could see from its physical body. This template could float in the air on the power of its mind alone. Not only that, it could project beams from itself that were like weaponized exceptions to the rules of physics. I could think of no material or power that would be able to stop a beam that made a hole in the laws underpinning reality in order to do damage.

It was a heady concept, and not one that I would advertise, or even hint at, but I'm pretty sure that the next time I encountered an Endbringer, I would do considerably more damage to it. Possibly more than anyone has ever done to one.

I would start growing a couple of _magi_ tomorrow. They would take more time to grow than anything else I had made other than the leader, but they would certainly be a tempting target.

The other reason that the magi would be a tempting target was that I would be following the plan's steps to slowly build the impression that I had possessed these templates from the beginning, and that they were the ones entirely responsible for the Thinker resistance of all of my creatures. I would focus on carefully releasing information in the correct order, followed by _'accidentally'_ revealing the fact that they were responsible for the effect to ever widening groups of people, allowing me to get some information about where in the chain the information leak was coming from.

I knew I would be able to pull off the impression without fail, because I was becoming increasingly sure that the anti-Thinker aspect of my powers was caused by my networked structure. Since the magi were intricately linked with the network, and made use of mental structures based on the same pattern to use its amazing abilities, I was pretty sure that my magi would have the largest anti-Thinker effect of all of my templates.

Finally, I got to the revenge portion of the plan. I had forgotten when I asked him to plan out that portion that Accord was a villain with very few moral boundaries that he stuck to. None of his plans added chaos to the world, but several of them were vicious.

On the one end of the spectrum were the PR wars. I would use my positive publicity from several of my more popular works to leverage an attack on the party that had wronged me. If it was a villain or illegal organization, it could be used to turn official sentiment against them further, allowing for kill orders or the Birdcage. I did not fill me with joy to see how simple it would be to get someone thrown in the Birdcage. True, it wouldn't be enough to pit their crimes against me versus the legal protections in place to prevent just such a thing, but it was easy enough to cause an incident that would spiral out of control, leading to ever escalating conflict, and eventual total war with the authorities.

If it was a heroic organization that had wronged me, such as the PRT, the options revolved around removing public trust in the organization, before gutting them politically. Because it was Accord's plan, there were also steps along the way to make sure that other agencies would be empowered to fill the power vacuum left behind. It would be a lot more vicious for the individual parahumans to deal with the other three letter agencies than the PRT, but it certainly wouldn't cause societal chaos, otherwise Accord simple wouldn't have given me the plan.

I decided that I would have to make sure that no one ever saw this plan other than me. Even if the PRT hadn't stolen my creature, there would be enough information in this plan to bring them crashing down. I was suddenly glad that Accord valued order above all, and that the PRT did a satisfactory job of maintaining the peace. I'm not sure the PRT could survive even a partial onslaught of Accord's efforts to bring them down.

On the other end of the spectrum were the 'simpler' methods of revenge. Ways to turn the Trojan creature into a devastating weapon against those who had taken it. Everything from engineered viruses to simply packing the thing with custom explosives, Accord was certainly inventive in his methods. The options ranged from the subtle to the extreme, but I would read them carefully even if I decided not to use them. Knowing what the options were could never hurt, even if only so I could defend against those types of attacks myself.

With Accord being aware of some of my capabilities he had even thoughtfully included tactical level flow charts to memorize for how to maximize the damage a single creature could do if surrounded by superior forces. Or how to get multiple creatures through to the enemy base given a single Trojan that was free to move around.

I sent off an email to Accord, thanking him for his diligent plan, as well as giving him the day's updates on the Canberra situation.

He replied only minutes later letting me know that he would have corrections for the Canberra plan ready for tomorrow, as well as the fact that he would be ready with the plan against the Slaughterhouse Nine by some time next week.

I simply allowed myself to be taken away by my tinkering as I built the trauma spray machine in my lab, and slowly assembled the template I would be using for my magi in my mind. This would certainly set the fox among the chickens, when people realized some of what my creatures could do.


	41. 6-3

6.3  
o0O0o0O0o

I was patrolling Canberra, getting ready for a more formal food distribution network, when I stumbled across something odd. It was a group, or mob I suppose, of people with makeshift weapons beating on a man who was standing very still in the middle of the street. Except they weren't having any effect on him. I watched as one large man with an improvised rebar club swung at the man's head as hard as he could, only to jar the club out of his hands and bend the metal.

This was clearly a parahuman. What I couldn't figure out was why he wasn't doing anything other than waiting for them to tire themselves out. He was still reacting in the sense that his eyes would flinch closed when someone swung something at his face, so it was clearly an unpleasant experience.

I tried looking him up, but he wasn't wearing a costume. Not terribly surprising considering the fact that the Simurgh had attacked more than two weeks ago now. If he had been wearing a costume, it probably wasn't in a fit state for clothing right now. None of the locals matched the description of that level of toughness, so he was probably one of the out of town capes, or had triggered since the attack.

From what the mob of perhaps a dozen people were screaming at him, they took the fact that he had visible powers to mean that he was an agent of the Simurgh. The irony of the fact that their irrational and violent behavior meant that the label was much more accurately applied to them was entirely lost on them.

While I had been observing them, I had been gathering the nearest dozen bodies to try to disperse the crowd without violence. Now that I had about four hundred bodies spread around Canberra, it only took a minute or two to gather enough. My response time would only get better as time went on and I spread through the city even more.

I stepped in to view with all of my bodies simultaneously. It took the frenzied mob a second to notice what had happened, but most of them stopped attacking. Two were too far gone, and they charged the nearest infiltrators. I decided to simply disarm them by yanking the weapons out of their hands, then lead them on a merry chase until they fell over from exhaustion. Perhaps that would work some sense in to them.

As the two most passionate of the mob ran off after me, the rest were looking between themselves in a slightly nervous silence.

"Oh, don't worry. I'm not going to attack you, I'm just making sure that Simurgh victims don't form into mobs. Any time too many people gather together and start brandishing weapons, I just surround them until they disperse. I find it takes a lot of the tension out of the matter." I gave my current iteration of my slowly improving de-escalation speech to the group.

I found it struck roughly the right balance between shocking enough to snap them out of it, but firm enough to be clear that they were not allowed to continue what they had been doing. My word choice was very deliberate. I described them as Simurgh victims to remind them of the fact that they _should_ notice that the other members of their group were acting irrationally, even if they didn't recognize it in themselves. I chose the word 'mob' because no one likes to think of themselves as part of an angry mob, it's not a decision that people make rationally, it's just high emotions talking.

When a group larger than your own confronts you and tells you to calm down, the two common responses were to immediately reevaluate the situation, which I wanted, or to go on the attack, which I could deal with. Both responses stopped the mob from continuing what they were doing before. When most of the members were focusing on figuring out what was going on, seeing one or two legitimately crazy members attack a superior force brought home the fact that some of the mob they were in were acting irrational.

One of the more level headed members of the group stepped forward. "What do you want?"

I had one of my bodies step forward as well, no need to be overly confrontational. "Like I said, I'm just making sure people don't form mobs. If there are disagreements, we can talk about them like rational adults. Feel free to yell at each other as much as you want, but as soon as people start reaching for weapons, I'll step in and try to stop things from turning nasty."

His face was still red with exertion and anger, but he was at least restraining himself. "And what gives you authority over us?! I won't bow to the Simurgh's servants."

I recognized the phrase 'Simurgh's servant' as one of the phrases the mob had been yelling as they attacked the parahuman, who was still just standing perfectly still, carefully watching the events unfold. It was a phrase that I had heard bandied about more frequently recently. It was evidently the phrase that had worked it's way into the local lexicon for those that had been most affected by the Simurgh's song. Or at least that was the theory, in practice, it was the catchall phrase for acceptable targets of mob justice. It wasn't a rational argument, but it didn't have to be. It was an emotionally charged phrase used to dehumanize the targets of violence. It was also a useful flag that the person speaking the phrase was one of those looking to enact mob justice, likely one of those most affected by the Simurgh themselves.

I would try reason first. When forced to back down, even for a moment, I found that many of the mobs were at least partially amenable to reason. The leader was a tall man with a new, patchy beard, he obviously hadn't bothered shaving since the attack.

"Authority? Well not much. I just happen to have enough force to allow me to get away with what I'm doing, just like you were doing a moment ago. Fortunately, what I want can mostly be summed up as peaceful rebuilding. As for your other comment, I arrived just as the Simurgh was leaving, so I wasn't affected by her song at all. I don't really expect you to believe me just from me telling you, but I think you'll start to agree once you see the situation starting to improve around here. I'm helping to coordinate the food distribution efforts. Can I interest any of you in helping with that? Or at least with a hot meal? If you're willing to walk with me over to Civic, we've got a good distribution center set up out of an old gymnasium. Currently we're getting more food than people to eat it so I would like help spreading the word that anyone who needs some can come and get some."

This was my way of offering a carrot, to distract the mob. Most of them were looking pretty bedraggled. The offer of a good, hot meal was immediately more tempting than any thoughts of continuing to fight.

"Wha? Food? How did you get enough food to feed people with, did you kill people for it?" The self appointed leader wasn't looking convinced, but I had spent the time we were talking quietly and calmly approaching the rest of the group to quietly discuss the situation with each of them individually.

"No, the Simurgh quarantine fund has already started deliveries to the barrier wall, and we need help distributing it. You're welcome to come see for yourself."

The members of the group that had families were the most interested, already I was leading several of them away to pick up some rations for their families. The leader turned around at the noise of quiet conversation to see that his support was slowly deserting him. He looked back at me with a resigned anger. He clearly knew he was losing the argument, but wasn't giving up.

"This isn't the end of it. You offer peace now, but you'll just be attacking us the moment you're in a position to do so." He took one last look at the others, before deciding he was better off without the group that hadn't backed him up.

With a final glare at me, he stormed off, but I didn't mind. I was just glad that my plan for nonviolently dispersing crowds seemed to be working so far. I wasn't sure what I would do the first time it didn't work, and people continued to injure each other. I wasn't really worried about my infiltrators getting harmed, it was only a problem when there were at least two groups of people involved.

The drama mostly over, I approached the parahuman that had been under attack.

"Hi, I'm Myriad. Do you mind telling me who you are?" Like usual, with my infiltrator bodies being slightly inhuman, I tried to make up for it with a bright disposition and happy tone. It's much harder to be afraid of something that's happy and cheerful. Or at least that was the theory, it didn't always work.

He though about it for a moment, before nodding slightly. "I'm Newton. I was an independent who came to help, but I got stranded here during the fighting."

Newton was a scrawny guy with hair poking in every direction. I started walking with him in the direction of Civic, may as well get him set up with the others I had working there, since he didn't have a home to go to.

"So what are your powers? And how did you deal with the armband?"

Once again, newton took a while to think about how to answer my question. He reminded me a bit of Renick in the sense that he never did anything quickly. I was amused by the irony of that though when he explained his power.

"I get stronger and tougher the slower I move myself. If I'm holding as still as I can, I'm probably as tough as Alexandria, so my armband blowing up didn't do anything to hurt me. I don't think they understood how tough I get when they were handing out the armbands. If I move slow, I can lift a tank, but if I tried punching a wall, I'd just bruise my hand."

"So that's why you were just standing there and taking it from the crowd?" His power had some interesting applications, I would make sure to include details about it to my email to Accord today.

He nodded, even as he slowly picked his way around the rubble from a collapsed building lying in the street.

"Yes." He seemed content to leave his answer at that.

It looked like I would have to supply the conversation here.

"Would you be interested in helping out with some building projects in exchange for food, shelter, and company that doesn't try to beat you with sticks? Like I said to the crowd back there, I'm interested in helping the city rebuild and I can think of several ways that your power could help with that."

"Hmm." He gave me a slight noise to let me know that he was thinking about it, but didn't answer for a while.

Eventually, he continued his though. "I suppose I don't have anything more pressing to do. Yes, I will help you."

I spent the rest of the trip explaining about our current rebuilding efforts, as well as what I thought he could do to help.

o0O0o

It was bright and early on Saturday morning, and I was standing in front of the Palanquin. They were closed, but I was pretty sure that I could talk to Faultline's Crew if I was willing to wait for someone to answer the door.

I wasn't too worried about what the PRT's reaction would be. Not only did they have very little authority when I wasn't 'on the clock', but I had technically received permission for this outing. True, it's probably not what Renick had in mind when he was signing the form to allow for 'independent, non PRT associated, subject matter expert consultation for Tinker tech.' Who knows though, he was pretty bright. He might have just signed off with full knowledge, but plausible deniability.

When I knocked on the side door to the club, I waited for a full five minutes before knocking again. This time someone answered.

The man at the door was morbidly obese, and the skin visible on his hands and face was translucent enough to vaguely see the bones underneath. Between that, and the small spiral growths on his skin, he didn't paint a very pretty picture.

I immediately recognized him as Gregor the Snail, one of Faultline's Crew.

After a long look at me, standing there in my armour, he finally said something. "You, are not my delivery-person. Is there something you wanted?" He spoke ponderously, careful of his words.

At least he was being polite. I nodded. "I was hoping to get a sample of Newter's hallucinogen in exchange for developing a counteragent to it that I will give to him, if the effect is based in biology."

There, nice and to the point.

"I will check if he is amenable. Please wait here."

With that said, he shut the door behind him and I stood there waiting for several minutes. Eventually he returned to the door, this time accompanied by Newter, a teen with orange skin, blue hair, and a tail. He looked excited.

"So Gregor says that you can develop a counter to my power? Are you for real, or are you just looking to make a fool of us?" I could tell he wanted it to be true, but was too used to distrusting people.

"It should be simple enough to test. If your power is based in biology, then I should be able to develop a counteragent to it. If I ever wanted to use a variant of your hallucinogen myself, I would need the counteragent as well, so I would have every reason to give it to you."

I stuck my hand out to shake and he looked at me funny. "You do know that my power knocks people silly right? I know your armour is alive, so don't be surprised if it's affected."

I still kept my hand out, ready to shake. "Yes, I know. Don't worry, I should be fine."

He still looked a little apprehensive. "Alright, but I reserve the right to take video of you flopping around in your armour if you're wrong." The last part was said with a strained grin.

He finally relented and shook my hand.

I stumbled, before puppeting the armour more directly, preventing it from doing any of the motion processing on it's own neural matter.

This stuff was a wonder! Even with biology nothing like a human, it was still instantly debilitating to my suit. Sure, it wouldn't take me too long to make all of my creatures immune to it, but the fact that it could affect me at all was astonishing, and the effect was purely biological!

I had a huge grin on my face, to the point that I'm glad Gregor and Newter couldn't see it.

"It's based in biology. Awesome. I'll be by in a day or two with a counteragent for you. It's very nice to have met you Newter. Gregor. Thank you for your time." I gave each a slight bow.

Wow, I had to synthesize this stuff immediately! It didn't use human amino acids at all, but I was sure I could come up with analogous structures using my own equivalents. This was so cool.


	42. 6-4

6.4  
o0O0o0O0o

I ended spending all of Saturday night working on Newter's hallucinogen. It was an amazing compound really, it had a very short shelf life, but that posed no problem if you could produce it on demand. The length of time the effects lasted depended very slightly on the dose, but mostly on the compound itself breaking down naturally. Getting a fraction of a drop on you would only disable you for ten minutes, but getting dunked in the stuff couldn't extend the effect to more than thirty.

The compound's mechanism of action was fourfold. It interfered with the senses that the brain received, making being aware of your situation difficult even if you weren't incapacitated by the other effects. It even managed to mess with internal senses like proprioception and balance. It interfered with the muscle signals going out from the brain. It wouldn't cause paralysis, it merely caused extremely uncoordinated movements. Third, it caused legitimately debilitating levels of hallucinations. That was the effect that everyone noticed, since the other effects were masked by that one. Finally, it messed with the brain's sense of time. Even if you somehow avoided the other effects, you would be in no state to fight, since everyone else would seem to be moving in fast forward.

It turned out that only the hallucinogenic effect worked on my creatures, but the redundancy of having four independently debilitating effects was what allowed it to work even on very divergent biology. Making an analog with my own amino acid equivalents was easy enough, as was making a counteragent for the each of the individual effects, as well as the whole molecule.

I made what amounted to a sticker dispenser for Newter. So long as you kept it fed, you could peel another patch off whenever you wanted. When you stuck the patch on your skin, you would be immune to the effects of his compound until about an hour after you took it off, or it dissolved after about a day.

Working trace amounts of the compound into my net's epoxy was easy, as was making pads on my hands that could produce it at will, as well as the counteragent. I would start filling out the paperwork for modifying my nets on Monday, but I went ahead and started modifying all of my creatures to have the pads on their hands already. I could get away with the modification due to my new found ability to include modifications to my creatures without prior approval.

After thinking about it for a while, and waffling back and forth on the issue, I eventually decided to include the pads on my creatures in Canberra as well, since it was unlikely for anyone to connect it back to me, but it had a lot of potential to nonviolently solve conflicts.

o0O0o

I was waiting on the front steps of the hospital, waiting for Amy to arrive. The trauma spray station was sitting on the steps behind me. We had agreed to meet here, and we were both walking it, so I was just people watching until she arrived. And letting people watch me I guess, I had already given out a few autographs to a couple excited children and one bearded cape geek.

Finally, I spotted Amy walking down the sidewalk towards me. She was dressed in her costume, with her scarf pulled up to cover her face in the brisk wind. It was nearly spring, but we were still getting the occasional cold snaps.

"Hey Amy." I called out to her as she neared.

"Hi. That the machine? How did you get it here?" She pointed behind me, indicating the trauma spray station.

"Yeah, I had a runner drop it off. Ready to go in with me?"

Upon receiving a nod from her, I grabbed the bulky machine, and let her precede me into the hospital. She knew her way around, and had called ahead to know where to bring the thing, so I just let her lead me to a well supplied room with hospital equipment and replacement parts lining the walls. I nudged a medical cart out of way to make room next to the wall, then set the thing down.

I grabbed two of the spray bottles out of the machine, then handed one to Amy.

"So who do we give a demonstration to? Do we need to prove it works or something?" I waved my bottle vaguely as we exited the storage room.

Amy just shook her head, hood and scarf now off so she could see better. "No, they believe me that it works. We just have to show the head nurse how to use it, since she can train the other nurses, and they will be the ones using it most of the time. We're headed up to the main nurse's station to page her, so we can show it working, but it's pretty self explanatory."

When we got up to the third floor, Amy had the head nurse paged. She arrived only a minute later.

She was starting to go grey, and was a little overweight, but she had a very stern air about her.

"Hi again Panacea. Hello Hive, I'm Abigail Spence. Panacea said that you had something for us?" She was looking at me, evidently Amy wanted this to be my show. I could deal with that.

With a brief look over to Amy for confirmation, I started explaining. "This is a trauma spray bottle." I handed her the one I was carrying.

"If you keep the machine that's in the equipment room supplied, it will spit out another one of these bottles every day. That machine can take pretty much whatever you shove in to it, food, plastic, medical waste, doesn't really matter. If you keep the individual bottles supplied with calorie dense food through the slot there-" I turned the bottle over and pointed out the small opening on the side, about half way down. "then the bottles will keep a ready supply of trauma spray."

"The spray itself is mostly to deal with acute injuries, but it's non toxic and you can't overdose on it, so feel free to use it liberally. It numbs pain, although it leaves the pins and needles feeling so you know that the nerves still have sensation, it reduces inflammation and tissue necrosis, and it will stop everything short of catastrophic bleeding. If you spray it on an open wound, it will foam up where it comes in contact with blood and act as a clotting agent as well as a strong antibiotic and antiviral agent."

Her eyes got increasingly wide as I listed off it's traits. She stared at the bottle. "All that? And you're just giving it to us?"

I gave a brief nod, before elaborating. "Yes, consider it payment for being the first field test. I would appreciate it if you and your nurses would do a write up on the best ways you find to use it in practice. I know what it can do in theory, but I don't really know how it will be most helpful, so I would appreciate the real world use testing. For all I know, it makes sense to just carry it around as a disinfectant."

Abigail looked a little better now that she had something concrete that I wanted in return for her to focus on. "I'll make sure to let the other nurses know. We'll try it out in the hospital. Do you mind sticking around for a while, so I can test it out now? Oh, and how can I get in touch with you to let you know how it's working?"

"Sure, lead the way. I would be interested in seeing it in use myself. To get in touch with me, just give me a text on my Ward's phone or let Panacea know, she can get in touch with me herself."

I wrote out my phone number for her and handed it to her, before following her into the emergency room to try out the spray on a live patient.

o0O0o

It was early morning in Canberra, and several people were gathered to watch the events that were about to happen. Scramjet had spent the past several days digging out huge molds in the dirt for the two halves of his wind turbine blades and the large trench for the support tower. The blades were a more complex shape than any of the commercial ones, designed to work better with the wind speeds more typical of Canberra. He had a wind speed indicator on the top of a long, rickety pole for the past week, logging the wind speeds in the location he wanted to set up his first turbine, to fine tune his design.

The molds were nothing more than precisely dug trenches, ready to be filled in with whatever material Sinker used her power on. The plan was to fill the two blade molds, scrape off the excess material, then glue the two halves of the blade together with the flat sides facing each other, using a _lot_ of wood glue in this case. The resulting complex 3D shape would be exactly what Scramjet had designed, while being made out of two strongly bound pieces of continuous wood. The support tower would just be filled in entirely in one go, since it didn't need to be a complex shape.

I had already gathered several of the smashed tree trunks from all over the nearby area and placed them next to the molds, bark already stripped. For some reason people thought it was amusing when my infiltrator 'workers' had eaten the bark they were stripping off the trees. I could digest just about anything after all, no need to add to the food burden and cause resentment.

Pretty much everyone that I had working for me was out to see the event. Ad Lib and his constant companion Smash n Grab were off to the side, even Smash n Grab's sister Zoe had decided to come along, and I was providing enough safety these days that he had evidently decided it would be a good opportunity for her to get out of the house.

Newton was talking with several of the non powered volunteers that had some degree of engineering experience. They were discussing ways to use his incredible strength to put the support tower in place, once it was built, since his power didn't provide him any extra mass or leverage than normal. It would still take more than a week to build the generator nacelle and get everything assembled, but the blades and support tower would be done today, since they could be solid wood.

The support tower would have some heavy PVC piping floating roughly in the middle of the wood, since Sinker could adjust how much any individual thing would sink or float. We would use the pipe as the conduit to run the power cables and other necessities through the middle of the otherwise solid base.

Scramjet and Sinker were standing near the molds themselves, discussing the 'pour' that was about to happen. They had been spending a lot of time together lately, so I was unsurprised to find them standing off on their own. With the way Sinker kept sneaking glances at Scramjet, I was pretty sure they wouldn't have any problem working together on the future windmills.

When they finally decided they were ready, Scramjet stepped forward and let of a small blast from an air horn, catching everyone's attention.

"OK folks, gather round. Those of you helping to scrape the excess off the molds, please grab your tools and head over to your designated spot, we're just about ready to start."

People ambled around, picking up the various straight edges that had been scrounged for this project, mostly is was sections of 2x4 that were long enough to reach both sides of the molds.

"Please start by placing the logs in the molds, then call out when everyone is clear. Remember, don't get your foot stuck in the wood that flows over the mold! We'd have to chip you out because we don't want to reliquify the blades."

As everyone picked up the pieces of wood and carefully set them in place, I was keeping an eye out to make sure no one dropped something in the trenches. I didn't want the aerodynamic surface of the blade fouled because someone dropped a rock in there or something. When everything was in place, I gave a nod to Scramjet and Sinker, who walked forward and placed her hands on the chunks of wood.

She could evidently extend her effect through any touching material of the same kind, out to quite a large distance, because she had no issues liquefying all of the individual chunks of wood in the mold.

When everything was melted down in place, the scrapers got to work clearing the excess, then Sinker stepped back from the first mold, wood now in place, with a crazy grain structure flowing continuously from one end of the huge blade to the other.

As everyone moved over to the second mold, I had several infiltrators step forward and pick up the blade by the edges, heaving it out of the dirt then setting it down on the ground for Scramjet to inspect.

He did a full walk around inspection, before walking over to the group that were just now finishing up the support tower.

"It looks better than I had hoped. The surface could use some minor touch up with some exterior paint to make the aerodynamic characteristics a little better, but the shape came out flawless. If we start painting it tomorrow, and glue the halves together later in the week, I think we can mount them by early next week. It will take a while to hook it back up to the local grid, but we'll have power up and running within two weeks"

Sinker looked a little nervous. "You think it'll be strong enough?"

Scramjet immediately reassured her. "Yes. Even with the wrong grain structure it would have been fine, but with the grain basically preserved like it was, with all the logs laying in the right direction, I think it will probably last twenty years before we need to think about replacing it. We'll need to service the nacelle more often than that, and we'll probably be able to reuse the blades by the time we have to replace the nacelle anyway. Good work everybody. Now we just need to make two more blades. You know where the wood is folks."

A couple of people groaned at the thought of dragging the wood over, but Scramjet tried to set them straight. "Hey, you folks better be happy Myriad dragged all the wood here for us, we just need to put it in the mold."

I already had several bodies working on bringing wood over.

Now we just had to get the thing finished and mounted. I wondered what the people manning the quarantine zone would think when they saw a massive wind turbine break the skyline of the city that was supposed to be in chaos right now...


	43. 6-5

6.5  
o0O0o0O0o

After we were done at the hospital, Amy and I were wandering back towards her house. I was mostly coming with to keep her company, but I was also headed in this direction to bring the counteragent to Newter today. Eventually the conversation turned to new tinkering projects, and I brought up Newter's compound.

"Yeah, it's pretty amazing. I gave myself pads on my hands that can dispense the stuff if you're interested in getting a look at it. You're immune to things trying to affect your biology right? So it shouldn't affect you, but you can still examine it."

"Yes, my power automatically neutralizes anything that touches me. Can I see?" She had that wistful, hopeful look I was coming to associate with Amy wanting to do a novel thing with her power.

She was still pretty skittish about it, especially using it in any way that someone else could ever find out, but I was slowly helping her to loosen up about it, just a bit.

I stuck my hand out to her.

She gingerly took my hand and I started producing the chemical through the pores on my gauntlets.

Her eyes widened. "Wow, this stuff is complex. It shares nothing in common with any biology I've ever seen."

She was staring in to space, hand loosely gripping my gauntlet, but I knew better than to try to withdraw my hand right now.

"Hey, you want to see my counteragent? It would be nice to have someone check over my work."

Instead of waiting for an answer, I just started producing the counteragent through the contact point between our hands, in addition to the hallucinogen, so she could compare them.

"Mmmm. Oh! That's clever. Hmmm. Yes, I can see how it works against all of the individual effects. You came up with this in a day? That's pretty amazing Taylor."

I looked around, no one was close enough to have heard that. "Um, Amy, you should probably call me Hive when I'm dressed like this."

"Hmm? Oh, shit." She withdrew her hand from mine.

"I'm sorry about that, I was distracted and it slipped out. I get so used to our family having their identities known that I forget sometimes how everyone else has it." She was looking worried about how I would respond, so I tried to set her mind at ease.

"I don't think anyone heard, so no harm no foul. Just try to keep it in mind."

She nodded, but looked down and wrapped her arms around herself. It could have been from the cold, but it looked more like she was just feeling unsure about herself right now. Even with all I understood about social interaction now, there wasn't much for me to do to make her feel less awkward, other than waiting.

We just walked in silence until we finally got to her house. She turned and looked to me, and looked like she was considering inviting me in, until she saw the car in the driveway that meant her mother was home. From what I gathered, Carol Dalon wasn't a huge fan of mine. She probably didn't feel like dealing with the drama right now.

"Thanks for walking me home. I'll see you at school tomorrow. Bye." With that, she turned and went inside and I walked off. I would think about what I could do to make her feel better on Monday.

For now, I had a present to drop off for Newter.

Just to make the trip go faster, I turned invisible and sprinted down the roads.

When I got to the Palanquin, I knocked on the door, prepared to wait for a good five minutes again. I underestimated how much this would be worth to Newter, he yanked the door open less than thirty seconds after I knocked.

"Do you have it?! Is there some problem? Can you not make it?"

I made a placating gesture with my hands, then pulled the small dispenser out of a pocket on my armour. "Don't worry, I made it, and it works fine."

He carefully took the small box out of my hands and examined it as if he were afraid he would break it.

As he was examining it, I started explaining.

"It dispenses little stickers. Just shove some food in there when it starts to run low. If you stick the sticker to someone's skin, they'll be immune to your compound until the patch breaks down about a day later, or for about an hour after you remove the patch."

He carefully peeled off a dime sized sticker to examine it closer. "And it won't do anything to me? Like make me stop producing my stuff?"

I shook my head. "No, I didn't think it would be safe to try to mess with your powers like that, that's why I stuck with just affecting the people who you might be touching."

Even as I finished my explanation, Gregor and a slender red-head with a mask walked up behind Newter. From her shirt's distinctive design, this was probably Spitfire.

Since Newter was preoccupied, I waved and greeted the newcomers. "Hello Gregor, and Spitfire right?" She nodded to me.

"Hello Hive. I take it you have brought friend Newter he newest toy?" Gregor was looking curiously at the little dispenser that Newter was fiddling with.

"Yeah. Hey, Newter." He looked up at me. "Why don't you show your friends how it works eh?"

With a distracted air about him, Newter took the sticker he was fiddling with and stuck it carefully to Gregor's skin without touching him. Then he offered the dispenser to Spitfire, who took one for herself, sticking it on her arm.

He looked back over to me with apprehension on his features. "Do I need to wait for it to kick in or something?"

At my head-shake, he carefully extended a finger towards Gregor, poking him lightly in the upper arm. When Gregor only looked on in interest, instead of falling over, Newter switched to using his whole hand. When even that had no effect, Newter let out a whoop and hugged Gregor, then exuberantly glomped on to Spitfire as well.

"It works! Hah! This is awesome!"

As he danced off into the interior of the nightclub, Gregor turned to look at me, while Spitfire was still watching Newter cavort about inside.

"Thank you Hive. It seems that Newter is pleased with your deal. Let us know if you have any similar arrangements for us in the future."

With a ponderous bow, he turned back to the nightclub, before politely closing the door behind him.

Looks like I had some new... Hmm. Allies might be too strong of a word, but associates might do. I knew that I could call on them in the future and while they wouldn't do anything for free, I could be reasonably certain that I would get a fair deal from them. I would take what I could get. Now I just had to decide what to do with the rest of the day.

o0O0o

My sea planters and accompanying commandos were finally ready. The commandos still had wings, since those could be pulled tightly against the body to prevent them from interfering with travel underwater. Mostly, the creatures were unmodified, but they had some minor differences in their respiratory systems and webbed limbs to allow for easier breathing and swimming. I should be able to take deep sea pressure better than most Earth animals, so I shouldn't have any problems swimming deep enough. It was mostly just a matter of taking the time to acclimatize to the pressure changes, like deep diving whales.

I set out from the bay, headed pretty much due east out to sea. I made good time, but I was also exploring the sea bed as I went. It was interesting how many unfound shipwrecks of fishing vessels and similar boats there were fairly close to shore, but that number decreased pretty rapidly as I made my way deeper. Only big boats went this far out, and they were almost always worth finding if they sunk, if only to determine the cause of the very expensive sinking.

As I went deeper, it also got darker. I decided to plant my seeds deep enough that I wouldn't show up on satellite imagery. With the Simurgh resting in space, we didn't have nearly as many satellites on Earth bet as Earth aleph did, but there were still enough to look for evidence if people knew where to look.

Once I estimated I was deep enough, I started marking up the ocean floor in a rough outline of the final spaceship, to get an idea where to plant my many seeds. Theoretically, I could do it from a single seed, but I would be planting continuously until the entire base of the ship was covered. I wanted this ship to be ready as soon as possible. Much of the energy would be coming from the roots that would shoot deep in to the ocean floor silt to draw as much nutrients as possible. It wasn't as effective as sunlight, but it would be a lot more secretive. In addition, I was going to be hunting for a couple of whales that swam too close, then dragging the carcasses along the ocean floor in order to feed them to the growing ship.

The ship itself would be a marvel of engineering if I ever actually got a chance to show it to anyone. While it did have small vents for reaction thrusters for fine maneuvering in an emergency, it primarily ran off of the psychic power of the ship itself, like my growing magi. The rocket equation had nothing on me. I was going to be relying on biological antigrav drives to propel me through space. Well, through the water. I wasn't actually planning on taking it in to space. I needed to keep reminding myself of that fact. The plan was for it to stay on the ocean floor forever, serving as a mobile relay and backup neural processing power for in case my installations on the surface were attacked.

If I could cloak the ship, I would be able to take it in to space with no difficulty. But as I had learned, my cloaking only worked on the templates the size of my leader and smaller. Even the flying version of the leader would be too much, I simply couldn't do the calculations necessary to support the reactive camouflage on a biological brain without cooking it.

It was a problem I would work on. If I could get an alternative camouflage system, or some way of offloading the processing into a computer, I might be able to manage it. For now though I would be stuck with visible ships.

I was arming it with some minimal ship scale weapons, but since this _shouldn't_ ever see combat, I wasn't spending too much effort on it. It basically amounted to some jointed flak guns for protecting the ship from close threats and two spinal mount bio-plasma cannons for anti-ship offense.

Bio-plasma was a bit of a misnomer. There were some walking templates that could use it as well, and most of the titan sized units had at least some bio-plasma weaponry, but it would be more accurate to say that it was a biologically generated plasma gun. It used bio-electricity to generate powerful magnetic bottles within the organism, then pumped a huge charge through the gas in the ignition chamber, before magnetically accelerating the resulting plasma out the front.

The smaller units that could generate the plasma relied more on the intense heat to do damage to the target, since there wasn't much room to accelerate the plasma within the neck of the creature. The larger the guns got however, the more dangerous the plasma pulses got, since longer barrels allowed considerably more force to be applied to the plasma charge and accelerated them to ever higher velocities. The biggest bio-plasma guns I could build would accelerate the plasma payload up to a third of the speed of light.

The ship mounted spinal guns were more than two hundred meters long, and accelerated the plasma to velocities that meant that the weaponry was relevant even at distances about on par with the distance between the earth and the moon. Too much further and the plasma was too diffuse to pack an appropriate punch, especially if fired out of an atmosphere. Even at those distances though, the guns would be surprisingly accurate, capable of hitting a stationary target a kilometer across. This relied on the fact that the entire ship had to be moved to aim the guns, so the trajectory was built in to the guns themselves. There were small muscles along the length of the guns that could angle the barrels themselves by a couple thousandths of a degree for the fine tuning of the shot as it fired.

Defensively, the ship would rely on a combination of point defenses, armour, and shields. The point defenses would fire frangible bone spicules that would explode violently into a cloud of dense shrapnel at a set distance from the ship, providing a screen against incoming projectiles and acting as close in weapons in their own right. The armour was simply a modified chitin, the same as my other creatures used. The shields were another of the innovations that relied on the psychic power of the ship.

I know that I was probably getting a little bit obsessive over the characteristics of a spaceship that would probably never see space, but I couldn't help it. Spaceships were just so cool!

It wasn't really designed for crew, although it could certainly take on passengers. They just wouldn't be very comfortable, since there were no windows and no gravity provided by the ship. There weren't even proper floors, since the structure was three dimensional, and would only really be traversable by humans when in zero gravity. My creatures of course could just climb around on the 'walls' and 'ceiling' just fine.

I was already starting to seed the ocean floor with the beginnings of what would end up being the bottom of my spaceship in less than two months. I had until it was ready to figure out more of the math that Professor Haywire used to contact alternate realities. I didn't need the whole thing figured out by then, although the ability to go to other Earths would be cool, mostly I just needed to figure out the bits that dealt with the transmission of data, and how that would interact with my own psychic frequency.

Already, I had figured out some of his simplest work, the math referring to the 'location' any particular universe was in relation to the others. It didn't help me with getting a signal across, but it did let me know that I might eventually be able to figure some of it out.

Now I just needed to think of what to do for the rest of the week. I didn't have any real plans, so I was pretty sure it was going to be a slow week.


	44. 6-6

6.6  
o0O0o0O0o

Mid way through the week I got Accord's plan for killing the Slaughterhouse Nine. He even did me the favour of forwarding information on their last known location.

There were lots of sub plans and counter strategies for if things went wrong, but most of it boiled down to 'how to diffuse the bomb'. The bomb in this case being killing the Nine without Bonesaw unleashing a plague, or making Crawler even more dangerous than before.

The others in the group were much less of a directly scaling threat. Shatterbird would always cause massive casualties when she entered a city, but that wouldn't be made worse if she were trying _extra_ hard. She just always did maximum damage anyway.

Fortunately, I had the resources to throw at the problem, so I could get started with the hunt with the same team that went to Boston.

I set off immediately, while I had my planters work on steadily expanding the network around Brockton. They would set off on their cross America tour next week, when my next batch of commandos would be ready.

I anticipated that it would take me some time to track down the Nine, and I would trail them for a while looking for the right moment to strike. Most of the initial plan revolved around picking off Bonesaw first by consuming her entirely, negating her plagues by keeping them sealed until digested. I wasn't sure I would be fine with eating someone essentially whole, but I was even less fine with Bonesaw unleashing a worldwide epidemic that could kill half the population.

Once she was dealt with, I would wait until they were on the move again and hit their transport with a heavy venom cannon shot, which would essentially liquefy anything organic that got hit withing seconds, and perforate everything that wasn't organic. That would deal with everyone except Crawler and the Siberian.

Crawler would be traveling separately, so it wouldn't be hard to ambush him and see if my boneswords could negate his regeneration. If they did, he wouldn't last long, if they didn't, then I would have to find some way to fly him in to space some day. Other than testing my psychic powers, there was nothing I could do against the Siberian, but I was resigned to that. If my psychic powers didn't affect her, I would tail her to keep people warned about her approach, and eventually test a magi warp lance on her. She was invulnerable to anything based in physics, but I doubt even she would be immune to a warp lance.

I would give Accord any updates I could once I found them. If they had new members or if anyone had died since they were last seen. With his last minute go ahead, I was hoping to take them cleanly off the board.

o0O0o

Since I now had more than a thousand infiltrators, I was focusing my attention mostly on Canberra, making sure everything would be ready for raising the windmill on Tuesday, when I got a surprise that shocked me into stupefaction.

My runner had returned.

It had been a long four and a half weeks, but it had made it all the way to Canberra.

My mind was running in a hundred different directions, but not all of it was productive, so I centered myself and decided to go through it from the beginning.

They had stolen my runner via teleportation. Presumable to another Earth given the identical gravity but lack of beacon. Precise, instantaneous, silent portals. At least I knew what I would have to be dealing with.

Next, the biggest shock. Alexandria, Eidolon, and an unknown woman in a suit and fedora had been some of the ones responsible. There was a lot to think about there, and I would be fully exploring the idea later, but for now I just made note of it.

They had prepared for my optical camouflage, as well as my enhanced strength, but they had clearly underestimated the intelligence of my creatures. The portal over the Indian Ocean was clearly a trap, but I'm not surprised that they thought it would work. If my creature could survive the landing, if it could survive the water, if it could swim half way around the world, if it could find me by itself, there was still no indication that it had the ability to relay memories to me. Theoretically, I would just have known that my creature made it back to me. Unfortunately for them, no one else really understood how my network worked.

Surviving the landing had been a harrowing ordeal, but quick thinking on the runner's part meant that with a vehicle net for a frame, and the other six nets for the body, it had a rudimentary parachute. Well, more of a glider than a parachute. It didn't have much hope of slowing down enough, but it could convert much of it's speed to horizontal velocity, which made the impact with the water much less dangerous. If my creatures weren't designed for orbital insertions, it still probably would have been deadly, but with their severe g-shock tolerances, it had survived. With two skips over the surface of the ocean before stopping, it was a violent and tumbling affair, but survivable.

Its carapace had cracked, and two of it's limbs had broken, but it had survived. The runner filled its lungs with air for buoyancy, then lived off the water playing over it' gills for several days until it was in a fit state to swim. First, at close to peak human speeds, then over time, adapting it's body to allow for peak dolphin speeds, the runner had made it's way towards the beacon.

It had been working towards the beacon for more than two weeks, before the Canberra beacon was established and it knew that it was headed in directly the wrong direction. Fortunately it was bouyed by the thought that it was suddenly closer to its goal instead of being dismayed that it had been working in the wrong direction.

Surviving off of fish for weeks had turned it into quite the aquatic hunter, but it had finally arrived in Australia. At which point it had to run across the entire width of Australia on foot. At least traveling on foot was _much_ faster than traveling through the water.

Finally, _finally_ , it had reached Canberra, to give me its precious data. I had enemies. Powerful enemies with free access to other earths. And now I had to figure out what to do about it.

Oh, and figure out how to reward a part of myself that didn't really have a sense of self of its own. Because seriously, that runner had gone above and beyond the call of duty. Fitting I suppose, for the first runner I ever made.

Now what to do about Alexandria and Eidolon. One of the main problems was that they were the head of their local branches of the Protectorate, so there was a vanishingly small list of people that they were accountable to. Theoretically, they were accountable to their local PRT Directors, the Chief Director of the PRT, and the President. Since the leader of Alexandria's branch of the PRT _was_ Chief Director Costa Brown, that at least simplified my mission.

I honestly didn't think I would have the pull to manage to get in contact with the President of the United States over an issue that I couldn't explain to any of his underlings, but I might be able to manage it with the Chief Director.

I would have to be very careful, because there was clearly organized opposition within the Protectorate. I had thought that the regional cell structure of command would largely preclude country wide conspiracies like that, but evidently not. I needed to avoid tipping off anyone who could report to the Protectorate, and I would need to make sure that I had all my evidence together, ready to present.

On that note, I worked at translating a memory from the runner into a digital picture that I could then print out as physical evidence. I didn't know who the other woman was, but I had good views of both Alexandria and Eidolon, as well as the chunk of the side of the van that had vanished from the scene of the crime.

I spent most of the day looking up emergency contact procedures and wading through bureaucracy. It would be very difficult, and I would be bending a few of the rules, but I think I could manage to get in direct contact with the Chief Director of the PRT. Perhaps just as importantly, without letting any of the lower tiers of bureaucracy know what the specific issue I had to talk with her was other than 'security concerns'.

I ended up playing phone tag for several hours on Saturday before I made much progress, but I managed to pass layer after layer of PRT bureaucracy. If Piggot was still the acting regional director, I don't think I would have managed, but with Renick as Acting Director, he could pass me up higher on the chain.

The only reason that it worked was because almost every circle of bureaucracy had _some_ option to be elevated to a higher level at the discretion of the person on call, and I had been making a lot of friends since I signed up for the Wards.

Eventually, finally, I got on the line with Chief Director Rebecca Costa Brown herself.

"Hi, Chief Director? This is Hive of the Protectorate East North-East region-" I managed to get that much out before she cut me off.

"Hive? Yes I've heard of you. What is such a pressing 'security concern' that you would be calling on a Saturday, I don't have any other details here. If it weren't for Acting Director Renick vouching for you personally we wouldn't be talking today." She sounded very much no-nonsense, but fair. I was glad that I would get a chance to actually bring up my issue.

I cut straight to the chase. "Yes. I have evidence of a high level conspiracy going on within the Protectorate. Are you aware of the range test that Director Piggot ordered for my first creature?"

"The one were your creature went AWOL? Yes of course, she consulted with me on getting that test done. Get to the point Hive, I have very little patience for doling out information breadcrumbs."

Instead of answering her accusation, I figured I would just address the issue directly. Hopefully I could short-circuit the argument.

"I have direct evidence that Alexandria and Eidolon, as well as an unidentified third person, were personally involved in the _kidnapping_ of my creation during that test."

She sucked in a breath at that. "You say you have evidence of this? That is a very serious accusation that you are leveling here."

"Yes. My creature was recording the entire incident, and it survived the attempt to destroy it after it was taken. I have finally received the recording of that event, and can present it to you as soon as you want. Do you have a location where I should drop the file for you?"

Silence on the line for several seconds. "Hive, I want you to listen carefully. Eidolon has many thinker powers available to him. If your accusation is correct, it is entirely possible for him to discover the existence of your evidence if you attempt to send it to me over any unsecured channels. I want you to keep the evidence carefully guarded, do not let anyone else see it. I am going to arrange to have you meet me in person to hand the evidence over and discuss the issue much more securely than over the phone like this. Unfortunately, I can't meet with you immediately. If I tried, it would be very suspicious to anyone watching me, and Alexandria is in my region. I should be able to arrange something suitably inconspicuous by this time next week. I'll make it some pretense about verifying the safety of your equipment. I will send Dragon to personally pick you up in a secure transport to bring you to me directly, do you understand?"

At least she was taking this seriously.

But still... "A week? Wouldn't it be easier to establish a secure connection online, then just talk that way?"

"No, we have to meet in person. I'm not sure you've realized the implication yet, but the fact that the parties that took your runner knew that the test was happening at all means that they've got people seeded throughout the PRT feeding them information. We need to be absolutely certain that word doesn't get out about this. If you are wrong, it would cause needless panic, but _if you're right,_ the situation is very serious indeed. I want to make sure we dot all the I's and cross all the T's on this one."

Argh. This was going to be a tense and miserable week, until I could get word out about this, but it didn't sound like she was going to budge on this. Even though I still disagreed with her that this was the best way forward, it was looking like it would be done her way for now.

"I understand Chief Director. I will be ready for pickup next Saturday."

Before I managed anything else, she cut in again. "Good. I will prepare for the meeting. Have your evidence safe, and disconnected from the internet until then. I don't want any chance of this going wrong. Talk to you next week."

With that, she hung up.

Once again I considered if I was doing the right thing about this. After all, the PRT could be in on the conspiracy as well...

But.

If the PRT was in on the conspiracy as well, the I was set fully against the PRT and the leadership of the Protectorate _anyway_. This was at least the fastest way of seeing how far the corruption spread.

And honestly, if I couldn't bring Alexandria and Eidolon to task through official channels, this whole thing was going to be a lot more complicated. Attacking them directly would be asking for trouble, unless I built up my forces a lot more. That, and the fact that if I managed to kill them, if I even wanted to kill them, it would destabilize the PRT and the Protectorate at the same time.

There was no sense in pursuing the most aggressive option _first_. If it turns out that the corruption went all the way to the top, I could always break out the big guns later. It's not as if they could stop me at this point, so it would turn into a war of attrition between me and them. And I'm pretty sure I'd win. I was _literally_ of one mind, one collected purpose. If I couldn't win a protracted fight with a directionless bureaucracy, than I didn't really deserve to hold the tile of hivemind anyway. 


	45. 6-7

6.7  
o0O0o0O0o

The following week was tense for me. The first thing I did was email Accord with an update to my situation to see what he would make of it. If I was expecting any great insights into my new issues, I was disappointed with his response. He was not _impolite_ about it, but he was very firm that my personal issues were mine to deal with. Unless it was a project that would enact order upon the world, I would receive no help from him.

I still had the parts of the plan that were at least mostly relevant to getting revenge, so I wasn't left with nothing, but huge parts of the plan that I had asked for were no longer relevant.

It was another reminder that the person I chose to act as my balance would have to not only be capable of doing so, but be _willing_ to do so. Accord evidently had other things to worry about than whether the Protectorate or the PRT was corrupt. Although from what I had learned of his past that wasn't very surprising. After all, he used to work for the PRT. There wasn't very much information available on what the issue was that led to him being a villain, but he knew about their inner workings better than I did.

I now had over fifteen hundred infiltrators in Canberra, which at least allowed me to distract myself from my issues with the PRT. I now had a population there on par with the police presence per capita of many civilized countries. I was still hoping to double my numbers there, but I could finally respond to any issues in the city in less than a minute, since I was spread out enough. It was also good that I was within a little more than a week of meeting my population goals in Canberra, since the corpses that were left over from the initial attack were starting to be pretty heavily decomposed in the heat of Australia. My goal was to deal with the last of the corpses by the end of the week, then start breaking down any dangerous rubble and other inconveniences that hadn't been cleared away yet for the last of the materials I needed. It wouldn't be as efficient as high density biomass, but it would do.

The issue of what to do with all my digestion pools that I now had up and running I sort of ignored for now. I wasn't sure what I would do with them once I met my goal for population, but I knew it would still be handy to have disposal areas for the population to use. The problem would be neatly solved if I could use bio-tinkering to make the resources that the city was starting to run dangerously low on, but I still felt a little leery about outing myself as a bio-Tinker to the people of Canberra. It could still come back to bite me if that information got out. It wouldn't take too much of a leap to connect my identities.

In the meantime, everyone was getting ready for the first giant wind turbine to go up. I had spent several nights digging a deep pit, then filling it with broken concrete rubble. With a simple application of Sinker's power and some salvaged rebar, we had a foundation for the turbine ready to go. Now it was just a matter of getting the nacelle complete.

Scramjet was working hard, his new artificial arm speeding up his work dramatically. It was straight out of steampunk, quietly hissing and chugging as it moved in an elegant imitation of a normal hand, occasionally his entire hand unfolding to access one of the tools he had built in to it. His final project on the nacelle had been completing the laborious winding of the generator coils to his exact specifications. Since this was one of the areas that his creation was much more complex than normal, no one else could really assist him with it. Although when Sinker wasn't helping me clear smashed buildings, she spent all her free time around him. Unless I missed my guess, Wesley and Sophie were becoming quite attached.

Once the nacelle was finished, it was time for the raising. Once again, we had a large gathering of people. The pieces were sealed and painted white and ready to assemble. Since I had the best coordination between my bodies, I let Scramjet direct me in assembling the blades, nacelle, and base together on the ground. We would be raising the whole thing all at once, since the base was strong enough to take it.

"Higher. Higher. Too high. Good right there. Now raise the tip of the blade a bit. Good." Spoke Scramjet, quietly.

Wesley was quietly directing me. As he spoke to one of my bodies standing next to him, a few dozen bodies were holding up the blade to be fastened to the nacelle. This was the third one, and the base was already attached. The rear of the nacelle was sitting in a pit I had dug just to have room for everything when it was flat on the ground and still be able to reach the blades.

"That looks good. Go ahead and fasten it in place."

The sound of power tools filled the air as I worked at bolting the blade in place on the nacelle. I had been scrounging for battery powered tools for a while, and we had spent the past week making sure that all the batteries were charged and ready to go. It wasn't very fast charging them a few at a time at Scramjet's workshop, but at least it was consistent. The hope was that we would be able to power the entire neighborhood once the large turbine was up. Scramjet's calculations said that it should work, but he freely admitted that it wasn't his area. Fortunately the numbers he was getting were lining up with the ones listed in Accord's plan.

I had already done some digging around the city to cut the main trunk lines that connected the neighborhoods of Canberra. When we got the turbine working, it would only be powering Civic, which should be withing range of its capabilities. It would still have problems with outputting power consistently, so people would have to get used to brown outs. After several weeks with no power at all, I was pretty sure people would just be happy to have electricity.

"That should do it. All three blades are secure?" Scramjet looked at the infiltrator serving as the 'project manager'.

"Yes. All the bolts are in place, no problems so far."

He nodded. "Good. All that's left is to raise it. Is the pivot in place?"

"Yes, but I would like your expertise. The whole project hinges on it, no pun intended." This got me a small smile, and we started heading for the concrete base that the turbine would rest on.

The pivot was a heavy truck's axle that ran through several loops bolted very securely on the turbine support's flat side, as well as the base itself. In essence it was a massive hinge. The windmill would be tilted up using that hinge with Newton's strength. We had tied a harness of steel cable around the nacelle and the other end would be wrapped around Newton's chest. Sinker had made what amounted to a ladder of thick rebar rungs sunk deep in to the ground for Newton to pull himself along so that he had enough leverage.

Wesley was examining the pivot closely.

"It looks good to me. And I've already confirmed that the wires are connected properly, I just have to pull them tight as it gets hoisted in to place so they don't get smushed. Want to go get Newton suited up? We can go make sure the blades are locked so they won't shift around when it's being raised."

While Scramjet focused on making sure everything was good to go, I was speaking to Newton.

"So I'll get it started with a couple of bodies lifting it up as high as I can, but the rest will be on you. You thing you'll be able to handle the weight?" I asked Newton.

He still hadn't told me his name. But I wasn't surprised, he was a very cautious sort of person. Currently he was bent down, examining the rungs of the 'ladder' that he was going to be relying on to stay firmly on the ground.

"Hmm. I won't have a problem. If this ladder holds, it will work. You are ready for if I rip a rung out of the ground?" He didn't sound overly worried, but I figured I would reassure him anyway.

"Yes. Invisible man is flying around, ready to catch you if you go flying. I know you would be fine, but we wouldn't want to launch you into the Nacelle. We would have to reform the blades, because there's no way they wouldn't smash, but the nacelle is the hard part to replace."

"Hmm." And that was apparently that.

"Scramjet wants to know if you're ready, everything else looks good to go. Need help suiting up?"

After looking at me for a moment, Newton just gave me a solemn nod.

I helped him wrap the cable around his chest a couple of times securely, then brought the end back in line with where it was stretched off towards the nacelle. He was already wearing enough metal that he was moving slow to make sure he would stay strong enough to move comfortably. He picked up the large lead wight we prepared for this and slowly crimped it around the cable with his bare hands until liquid lead started squeezing out from between his fingers. The cable was secure.

He walked over to the ladder, then pulled very lightly until the cable was taut. He looked at me for the go ahead. I let everyone else know to get back, then started raising the head of the turbine as far as I could with my bodies on the ground. Newton easily kept the cable taut as I raised it the first part, but then I reached the highest I could conveniently raise it by myself.

"OK Newton, the rest is all on you."

Unfortunately, we couldn't give him a hill to walk up, because the turbine itself was at the local high spot already. Right at the beginning, when the leverage was the worst, would be the hardest part.

Newton didn't say anything, he was too focused on his task. The cable first went taut, then straight as a ruler. He was ever so slowly working his way up the ladder, being careful not to grip the rebar too hard, lest he squeeze through it. The cable started making that unique echoing pinging sound of high tensile strength wire under a lot of tension. If it broke, it would set us back by as much as a week, but it should be strong enough.

With a cheer from the crowd, the nacelle started to rise. It was locked with one blade facing straight up, the other two facing vaguely down. As the nacelle rose, the leverage got easier and easier, but the whole thing also became more and more unstable. The wood had a fair amount of flex in it, and that meant that we had intentionally picked a time with slower winds to avoid the blades being caught and starting the head oscillating while the tower was still being raised.

So far, so good. With a minor wobble, the head continued to climb. Already it was more vertical than horizontal. Now it was a _good_ thing that Newton had to go so slow. It would be very easy to rush the last section and have the tower crash into place and overbalance. Newton just kept a steady speed, glacial by most people's standards, as he lifted the last part.

With one final tug, the center of balance shifted and the whole thing started tipping the rest of the way. The cable went slack as it tilted into place. With a deep thud, the tower met the base, holes thankfully lining up with the strong bolts that we had sunk deep into the cement. I had a dozen bodies rush forward with air powered hammer drills to secure the nuts in place. The cheering that was already going on swelled when people heard the distinct 'clunk-clunk-clunk' of the nuts tightening in place. It was done. I had my commando land in place on top of the tower and start releasing the harness.

When everything was in place and the blades were free, Scramjet just had to hit the button on the scrounged laptop and the blade lock released. The turbine started turning slowly right away. A semi impromptu party broke out, I had gathered a few supplies for it, but we had drawn a larger crowd than I was expecting.

The other thing I hadn't prepared for was how much attention it would attract of the negative kind. Even Accord's plan didn't quite cover it, since he didn't yet have enough information about those affected by the Simurgh, although I would be informing him after today. Those worst directly affected by the Simurgh generally kept out of sight, behaving mostly like animals. But we had basically just sent up a beacon that could be seen across the whole city that we were rebuilding, and they did not like that. So far as I could tell, those who had gone fully feral from the scream had a now instinctive hatred of civilization. If people were gathering together or rebuilding, they would attack savagely, sometimes with makeshift weapons, but usually just with their bare hands. So far it had been in ones and twos that were easy to deal with, but now we attracted hundreds from all over the city.

I had to pull in a couple hundred bodies just to make sure that the people who were celebrating the raising wouldn't be attacked, but at least it was easy to see who was totally gone from the crazy look in their eyes. Fortunately, one tap with my hands and they were out like a light.

I would be emailing Accord tonight to ask for his recommendation for keeping the ferals contained. But I needed a decent plan to start with or he wouldn't agree to help, his preference would probably be just to kill them all. My hope was to keep them up against the perimeter walls in what could theoretically be called jail cells, but realistically would just be the houses and apartments that were the closest to the walls.

With me supplying regular food and water, I hoped that the interactions would eventually be enough to blunt the Simurgh's influence. If it wasn't enough, the ferals could only hope to charge the walls. The idea was that if they were rational enough to try to grab a ladder or something, then they would be rational enough to see sense. If they were too far gone, they would be easy to contain against the walls. It would take someone who was rational enough to use tools, but crazy enough to charge the walls, to be able to get themselves dead by army, so I was hoping that the casualties would be relatively low.

Now I just had to find something else to distract me.


	46. 6-8

6.8

o0O0o0O0o

Things are progressing nicely in Brockton Bay and Canberra. Enough to distract me from my wait for a proper meeting with Director Costa-Brown at any rate.

In Canberra, I finally managed to track down Highline. Honestly I'm surprised she hadn't used her powers to launch herself over the wall yet, but I guess she was holding on to her senses well enough to realize that people would eventually recognize her if she escaped and continued to use her powers.

Her powers are pretty flashy, which is why I'm impressed she managed to keep under the radar for so long. I found her when she launched herself on a nearly flat arc away from a lone man who was yelling about the Simurgh. I sent a body to round him up for the walls, looked like we had another crazy. I was glad that I seemed to be encountering them less and less these days, or at least they hid it better.

In the meantime, I cautiously approached Highline while keeping in sight so she wouldn't be spooked.

"Highline?" I asked. She was in civilian clothing, but that might just be because she didn't have access to her costume any more.

"Yes?" She answered warily. Since she had definitely seen me, and hadn't jumped, I assumed she had observed me helping around town with one of my bodies. She was a surprisingly petite woman wearing a ratty boys' t-shirt and well worn jeans. Probably whatever she could find.

"I was hoping I could get your help in exchange for gathering whatever supplies you request. We've got a group of people helping out in Woden making a second windmill to go with the one we raised in Civic yesterday." With her breathing a little slower now that she wasn't being chased, I felt safe approaching her a little more.

She looked surprised. "That was you guys? Well, beats homeless scrounging now that my house is flat. And call me Ava, no use in that Cape nonsense anymore."

Despite her casual words, she sounded upset about that, so I decided to leave that topic well enough alone. "Sure thing Ava. From what I know you can launch any object or person you touch on a parabolic arc and it's protected from damage right?"

She was shaking her head as my explanation went on. "Nah, not protected. It just loses all it's momentum instead of taking a hit over a certain strength, like with the ground. What do you want me for anyway? I'm only much good for launching myself these days, no call for advertising gigs."

Her tone was creeping back to resentful, so I tried steering the conversation back to safer ground. "I was hoping to get your help with distributing food to different neighborhoods. Right now we have to lug it all manually or with carts, but you could launch it directly, so long as people are expecting it."

We were both slowly walking in the direction of my group in Woden by this point.

She just stared at me for a few seconds, slightly narrowing her eyes. Finally she eased up. "Huh. Didn't think anyone was still doing that sort of stuff, but if it'll help, I wouldn't mind trying it. What do I call you, other than "bald freak"?

I knew she was being antagonistic to try to provoke a reaction out of me, so I didn't take any offense. "Oh, I go by Myriad, but call me whatever if you don't feel comfortable with that."

She was looking thoughtful, until she grinned all of a sudden. "Sure thing 'whatever'."

I laughed good-naturedly, but she was cracking up, laughing uproariously for several seconds.

After a long pause, she finally continued talking. "Oh God, I haven't laughed like that in weeks. And at a stupid Dad joke..." She shook her head.

I eventually butted in to her quiet when it seemed like she was content to leave it there. "I have to introduce you to some of the others. I get the feeling Smash n Grab will get a kick out of you."

That got a strange look. "You actually have that loser doing something productive? That's more impressive than the windmill to be honest."

Nodding, I elaborated a little. "Yeah, he's a courier these days. If history had been a little bit different he might have ended up in a similar line of work before the Simurgh, he's certainly good at his job these days."

"Huh, well I suppose anything's possible."

As we walked, Ava lapsed back into silence. She seemed comfortable with it, so I didn't push. I could certainly relate, at least from before the locker.

I made sure that I had a good hot meal ready for her when we arrived at Woden. No reason not to make a good impression after all.

o0O0o

My first batch of three Magi was finally ready. They would nicely complement the six commandos that had finished yesterday. It was the day before my big visit, so I was going to hold off bringing it in until after I knew what was going to be done about the rogue Protectorate 'heroes'. It was nice to finally have some respectable production capabilities in place.

The magi looked a little bit like bobble-heads. Big eyes and huge head the size of a grown man, along with a body more appropriately sized to a child. They had enough brains that even without the sense of self that a human had, they were more aware than most of my creatures, more on par with my leader. They exuded a leashed sense of power, and it was a rush to be floating invisibly off the ground with nothing but a thought.

Out of curiosity, I floated a single magi over the city with an honour guard of swoopers towards the boat graveyard to test their primary weapon. I was still deciding what to name the weapon until I tested it.

With an effort of supreme concentration on the math that underpinned reality, I _pushed_. It wasn't even a changing of variables, I just outright set them all to zero. The hard part came from making the purely mental model of the change stick in the real world. It took resources not just from the magi, but from my entire network to pull it off.

As I watched, the hull of the sunken boat _warped_ in a perfectly straight line leading away from my magi, howling unreality clawing at the edge of the effect. Water, steel, silt, and stone ceased to exist in a fraction of a second before surrounding water rushed in to fill the void left behind.

I decided it would be called a warp lance, since that was both its mechanism of action and its effect. The one dimensional line met no resistance, but the unreality that spilled forth from between universes warped the fabric of the world itself. I could think of no material or effect that could resist the attack. Even structures that were built upon multiple dimensions would be destroyed. The nothingness between universes would flow along the lines of attachment and scour away the matter, even wile destroying the links between the 'slices' in different universes.

Scary stuff. I would certainly not be demonstrating that particular ability to anyone else. I would imply that the magi were just amplifiers for my anti-thinker effect. Let people think they were mostly harmless creatures.

Still, the ability was certainly not free. My magi had healed already, but _pushing_ on reality directly like that had caused some minor brain damage, and I wouldn't want to see the effect of trying to sustain the attack for longer than a second. The abilities that targeted brains directly were much more... energy efficient than something as brute force as the warp lance. Even affecting reality pretty directly with the strength of my boneswords was easier, due to having a focus to channel the effect through. Theoretically, I could harden a chunk of reality and use it as a sword directly, without the focus, but it would be just as much effort as using the warp lance and not nearly as effective.

Enough playing though. It was time to focus on gathering my evidence and preparing my arguments for my meeting with the chief director.

Printing out a couple of still frames taken from the eyes of my runner was simple enough, and clearly showed the faces of Alexandria, Eidolon, and their companion. I was glad for all of my preparations in interfacing with computers at the library, otherwise I would be reduced to sketching the scene by hand. It was much more convincing to see printed 'photos' of what had happened, from the moment of diving through the side of the PRT van into the white room.

My explanation was simple enough. I would just claim that I had implanted a small, cheap camera in the head of my runner prior to the test. Backing that claim up would be easy enough, I didn't even have to implant an actual camera that could be compared to the photos, since I could just claim that my runner had simply managed to send an 'emergency broadcast' before drowning in the ocean.

Currently my creatures didn't have such a capability, but it was easy enough to retrofit, and a good idea regardless. With a partial long range network lobe in all of my creatures that couldn't already connect to my relay, I could send tiny bursts of data about once per minute at the expense of a lot of energy. Wouldn't do anything for allowing them to receive the relay signal, there simply wasn't room in their brains for the full size organ, but it would prevent similar situations in the future.

I would still be reliant on my still growing spaceship for any communication across the barrier between universes, but any creature in one world would be able to send critical information back to my network. In a way, I was happy that the situation played out like it did, since it gave me the idea for the partial nodes in the first place.

Now I just had to refine my arguments a little bit, to account for different receptions by the chief director.

That, and apply the 'emergency broadcast' mod to my 'Taylor' body. No sense in being totally out of communications range during the meeting after all.

o0O0o

It was early on Saturday, and I was standing on the upper part of the Protectorate Rig, waiting for Dragon's VTOL transport to show up. It was a sunny, brisk March day and I was enjoying the weather. I just had to keep a firm grasp on the folder of printouts that I had with me to keep them from fluttering away in the wind.

When a glint caught my eye, I turned to watch Dragon's craft come in to land. It was an iconic shape, with futuristic wings and a tail that helped the craft to give a subtle impression of her namesake. Nothing overt, or anything that would compromise the design, but it looked fast and predatory.

I was listening in to the radio chatter with half an 'ear'. Dragon was currently asking permission to land on the helipad.

"You are cleared for landing Dragon. Please make your way to helipad 1." Came the clear voice of the PRT console operator.

"Acknowledged. I won't be long, so please clear my departure as well, I can see Hive waiting on the roof for me." Came Dragon's surprisingly soft voice. I had collaborated with her before, so I recognized her faint accent, but she sounded rather subdued today. Perhaps she had been told some of what I would be meeting about? That could explain it.

With a roaring of engines, Dragon's transport banked and kissed the landing pad, clearly demonstrating her superb piloting skills.

The door lowered itself for me, but Dragon stayed on board. Her voice floated out of the external speakers on her craft. "Hello Hive. Please board the craft, we have a schedule to keep."

There was her subdued voice again. As I entered through the personnel door, I decided to ask about it. "Are you alright, Dragon? You don't sound great. Normally you're brimming with enthusiasm..."

I strapped myself in as the engines powered up again, surprisingly quiet from inside the craft. We were already lifting into the air.

Dragon was silent for several second. "I apologize, Taylor. This is... Difficult for me."

That caught my attention, she usually used my Cape name when we were interacting. "Is there something I can do to set your mind at ease? I'm just going to have a talk with the chief director..."

Something was very off here. We were just crossing out of range of my network, and we weren't where I expected to be. "Hey Dragon, shouldn't we be headed further south?"

No response. "Dragon?"

When she finally started speaking again, her voice was cracking with emotion. "I'm sorry Taylor, we're not going to Washington. You're being sent to the Birdcage."

My manila folder dropped from suddenly nerveless fingers, spilling my papers over the floor of the transport. "What?! But that should be impossible, I was never called in to testify! There has to be a mistake!"

Dragon's voice sounded raw, but she wasn't offering any reassurances. "It was decided in a closed court session that your powers represented a danger to the judicial system and you were tried in absentia for breaking the 1997 proscription against self replication technologies. Because of your history of good behaviour and effort to help the public, your sentence was reduced to life imprisonment in the Baumann Parahuman Containment Center."

I was grasping at straws, but there had to be a way around this. A small part of my brain realized that I was freaking out because I was cut off from my network right now. "But, but. I never broke the rule! My technology can't self replicate."

Once again Dragon replied, but not how I hoped. "The judge ruled that your creature's capability for self modification would allow them to enable self replication, and you had already shown a willingness to introduce new modifications without prior approval. They brought out the paperwork signed by you and the deputy director as evidence."

I was barely holding it together at this point. "That was totally unconstitutional though. And there is a mandatory appeals process before sentencing for any capital crimes. It can't possibly be a valid order. Just bring me back to Brockton Bay and we can prove it!"

"I'm so sorry Taylor. There is nothing I can do. The judge used your commuted sentencing to get around the extra review stages. It can be appealed, but only after your sentence is enforced, and there is no release from the Birdcage."

I started crying. Just slumped in my chair. I thought I was beyond all this, but separated from my network, it was hitting me full force.

I only vaguely heard Dragon trying to comfort me as the transport flew on. The last rational thought I had was to send a burst transmission of the situation to my network. Somehow, I would get through this.


	47. 7-1 'Will' Johnson Interlude

7.1 Officer 'Will' Johnson

o0O0o0O0o

Will was glad to finally be getting back to proper duty rotation after his injury at the hands of Hookwolf. Even if he did get the cushy jobs for the time being. His colleagues had ribbed him about it, but he could see the relief in their eyes that he had made it through. They lost too many good troopers as it was to the gangs.

Their armour could stop most normal guns, but getting mauled by Hookwolf had been too much for his rear trauma plate to handle. It saved him from a messy death, but it hadn't been enough to stop him from getting an impressive new scar along his back.

He was still gobsmacked that Hive had actually come through on his idle suggestion to help out the troopers. Renick was about as passionate as he ever got about anything when it came to the new plates. If he had been wearing them when they tangled with Hookwolf, he would have walked back to base none the worse for wear.

That girl was going places. He didn't know where, but he was sure it was going to be impressive.

Hearing swearing coming from Renick's office was unusual, but when he realized that the voice was Renick himself, Will had to do a double take. Renick _never_ got that worked up. Must be serious.

That estimation climbed a few notches when Renick's voice came over the PA calling the duty squad to the armoury for muster.

When everyone was together, Renick started talking. "Well folks, the shit has hit the fan. I just received some very disturbing information from Dragon of all people, followed by the mother of all fucked up orders from Piggot."

He looked seriously at the face of each trooper. "Hive is officially off to the Birdcage." It took a moment for that to sink in, before the room erupted into noise.

Placing his fingers in his mouth, Renick let out a piercing whistle. "This has already happened, and Hive is on the transport as we speak. The reason I've called you here is that I have just received orders from Piggot to activate the safeguard installed in her creatures and proceed to her base and reduce it to slag with demo charges. Standard NBC procedures folks, let's do this by the book."

Will wasn't the only one who started trying to interrupt, but Renick waved them down. "This is not the time to question orders. That time will come _later_. Right now, we are to do our job. I will be submitting a report on possible incompetent leadership when we are done, but disobeying orders will not help anyone at this point. If any of you want to resign, or add to the paperwork trying to relieve Piggot of command, I will personally assist you, but for now we have a job to do."

Will looked around and saw some mulish faces, but Renick was right in saying that disobeying orders wouldn't help Hive any if she was already on the transport. Hive had only been with them for a short time, but trying to provide the troopers with better safety gear had bought her a lot of friends.

There was something ironic, but also quite wrong about shipping out to go destroy Hive's base while wearing one of her prototype trauma plates for protection.

The ride to the old garden supply store was done mostly in silence, with Rich speaking first when they went through the old doors.

"Christ" He was staring at the runner flopped over in the middle of the floor with a hole in its face.

They had heard the order going through over the radio that the 'countermeasures' were being deployed, but it was sad to see it.

"My kid's gonna be heartbroken, she loved those things since Hive was on the news."

The somber air continued as they were preparing the charges, until the radio squawked out an order.

"Will, could your squad please head to Brown and Fourth? One of Hive's swoopers was flying when the charges went off, it landed in the middle of traffic, and some civilians ran over to try to help it. They already called it in to the police."

Will just shook his head. What a shitshow. "I copy, over."

This was going to turn public sentiment against the PRT no matter how they played it. They were going to have to be careful not to get tarred with the same brush as the idiots making the decisions.

Now they had to go collect the corpse that just fell from the sky in public view.

o0O0o

Will was practically glued to the TV these days. Part of it was a matter of self interest, and the rest was legitimate curiosity at how it would all play out. This was turning out to be one of the largest shake ups that the PRT had ever experienced.

The news was full of Hive and the trial that never was. Pundits were throwing around words like unconstitutional, and public sentiment was turning nasty fast.

Piggot was already suspended without pay and the judge that gave the final order was looking at being disbarred already. It didn't help when some of the orders given to Dragon were leaked. People were split as to whether she should have disobeyed orders, but basically everyone agreed that something was rotten.

Will had his suspicions that Dragon had leaked her own orders. It slightly hurt her image, but it hurt those who _gave_ the orders more.

Renick had ordered most of the troopers to stay home for a few days. He was holding down the fort as acting director by the skin of his teeth.

People digging in to the legalities of the case had already found another two that were being suppressed under similar circumstances.

Paige 'Canary' Mcabee was already getting touted as the poster child for unjust clandestine court rulings, and the fact that some of the initial legal work was done by three of the same judges as the Hive case was raising flags all over. Human rights groups were already pushing for her case to be overturned, and Hive's to be brought to a fast tracked appeals process.

The singer Bad Canary was being accused of attempted murder with powers, among other things, but the shadowy trial came as a surprise to her many fans, who simply thought she had been taking a break from her singing career. There were even posts on some of her social media accounts to that effect that were being looked at with suspicion now. With enough people digging in to the trial dates and looking for evidence, a picture eventually surfaced of a frightened Canary in a horrific looking locking metal collar with gag and restraints, being shuffled into a courtroom by burly men with no sense of humor or compassion. It made for a striking image.

Will had seen Armsmaster stomping off to his lab, dark bags already under his eyes after a few days. He was taking it hard that his charges had been used to kill Hive's creatures.

When the news found out about the shaped charges, very few people were amused. The PRT media spokesperson was always on air, explaining about safety procedures and containment protocols. With cellphone video of Hive's creatures dropping dead in public view with messy face wounds where the shaped charges had blasted a hole, the public wasn't really buying it.

Then the local police department came out with a statement decrying the actions of the PRT and calling for a systematic review of the competency of their leadership, which only added tension to the situation.

Renick had made good on his word though. He was helping any trooper that wanted with the paperwork to file official complaints or to resign entirely. A lot of the troopers had closed ranks and decided to stay put to guard each other's backs, after making a few public comments about Piggot and the upper brass that confirmed the orders.

Will freely admitted that he couldn't really afford to quit. The PRT paid well, and danger pay was even higher, but like many of the ground troops, he lived large since a peaceful retirement was so rare. If nothing else, this whole situation was a good wake up call that even if he lived to retirement, the PRT wouldn't necessarily always be there either.

Will was only privy to some of the chatter flowing up and down the chain of command, but he could recognize a shitstorm when he saw one. PRT officials all the way up the chain to the chief director herself were pointing fingers and trying to hold on to their job. About the only thing anyone could seem to agree on was the fact that Piggot had finally snapped. Someone had dug into her past enough to find out that she was a Nilbog survivor, and people were starting to ask questions about why she had been put in charge of a district in the first place.

He didn't know which reporter had managed to grab the picture of Piggot snarling at the people trying to ask her questions, but they probably got a raise. It was quickly becoming the public face for incompetent bureaucracy.

Even the president had weighed in that the PRT had been acting grossly outside of their remit and would be receiving a top down review on what their actual authority consisted of. Only some people bought it, but it was enough to mostly distance the current administration from the political hot potato.

So far they had managed to keep Hive's identity out of the media. The locals could put two and two together, but people were staying mostly quiet about it. Hive's father had been handling it better than expected, but no one wanted to see what would happen if too many cameras were shoved in his face.

The other individual that the PRT was really keeping an eye on was Panacea. She had stopped going to the hospital for a few days, and she told the PRT in no uncertain terms that she wouldn't be healing for them anymore.

After allowing for a few days for the worst of it to cool off, most of the troopers were back on duty. Will, Sierra, and Rich were responding to someone calling in a sighting of Rune floating down the street on an air conditioning unit.

Normally it would be a member of the Protectorate that responded, except for two factors. When the gangs were pushing, they simply didn't have enough boots on the ground to rely on that, and villain sightings were ranked according to a scale of potential danger and likelihood of encounter. Since this was a single unconfirmed sighting, it fell to the PRT to do the preliminary work. They would call for backup if it turned out there was more to it, but with individual villains they had the authority to attempt an arrest if the squad leader felt they could do so safely.

Will was driving, while his squad was keeping a lookout.

Sierra was keeping up her normal steady stream of chatter. Some of the other officers found it annoying or unprofessional, but Rich and Will were used to it, and they made a good squad.

"Man, the gangs are pushing hard. With the hit to PR we've taken I'm not surprised, but Rune doesn't normally fly around this openly." Sierra was keeping an eye out, so Will didn't mind her observations.

"Hmm." Rich assented. It was usually just best to humor Sierra, she could get testy if she thought people were ignoring her.

"I bet they're trying to recruit. I guess heroes aren't the only ones who 'fly the flag' to remind everyone that they're still around. I wonder if they actually get more people trying to join when they're more open, or if it just scares people-"

"Got something over here!" Rich interrupted.

Will turned down the street in time to see Rune disappear down an alley, so he pulled over in a hurry and they piled out. Rich and Sierra both had backpack foam sprayers, but as the driver he couldn't wear one, so he just pulled his sidearm and followed his squad. Rich was already calling it in.

They proceeded carefully, but it looked like they had already lost her. Not too surprising though, they always tried to prioritize their own safety over making some crazy Cape play and getting themselves injured.

Will was doing his final sweep of the alley when he heard a faint clang from above him. When he looked up, he saw a dumpster that had been creeping over the edge of the building above them.

He dove out of the way as the dumpster fell, smashing to the ground behind him. Evidently Rune had left a trap for anyone chasing her. They would have to make a report to watch out for more attempts at the same trick, since it represented an escalation of Rune's normal behaviour.

Sierra rushed over to help him up, while Rich was keeping an eye out for any further attacks.

Looking him over, Sierra nodded, before joining Rich in looking around. "Good reaction times Will. You were almost a pancake there."

Will's heart was still hammering away in his chest, but he responded with a level voice. "I just thank my lucky stars something in the dumpster shifted right before it fell, otherwise I don't think I would have noticed in time."

Rich was talking quietly into the radio, giving a preliminary report now that it looked like the danger was passed.

Sierra was still fussing over him as they climbed back into the van. None of them noticed the subtle shift in air currents that was the only indication that they were finally alone on the street.

o0O0o

After the reports had been filed, Will's squad was given the rest of the day off. Normally, the threshold for action requiring downtime was a little higher, but between a verified cape encounter and potential injury, it was enough to squeak by. Renick was trying hard to retain as many troopers as he could through the entire mess.

As Will was about to walk out for the day, he spotted Rich avidly watching the TV in the break room.

"What's up?" Normally Rich was the first to turn off the TV, so Will was curious what had caught his attention.

Rich just gestured to the news channel. "Some sort of report on Hive's appeal trial"

Both men turned back to the TV.

"-is likely to take months, even with the new information coming to light from anonymous sources and a fast tracked trial. Many have complained of judicial obstruction, but the courts have responded that we just don't have enough information at this time."

Will grunted. "Big surprise, eh? It goes through in days or weeks when things are going wrong, but doing it when the world is watching will take months or years."

Rich just turned the TV off. "Yeah, I guess I shouldn't be surprised. I guess I expected more actual information. Still, it will be good to know if we are going to still have a job when the buck stops."

Will just wobbled his hand a bit. "People are always gonna need grunts for something, just be glad you're not actually in the chain of command. Some of those guys are gonna have black marks forever."

"Still…"

"Hmm?" Rich just looked at him.

"At least it's calmed down a little now."


	48. 7-2

7.2

o0O0o0O0o

When I finally awoke, it was to the faint whine of turbines. God, I was a mess right now. I tried to clear some of my snot off my face.

Okay. Priorities. Um. Reconnecting?

No, not yet. I'm not thinking clearly right now, I'll need to build a relay before I can do that.

Okay, dead man's switch with the info I had?

No. I'm thinking all wrong. My network will take care of all of that. What can I accomplish that my network _can't_ right now? Information. I needed information.

"Draghhh. Cough"

I cleared my airways and tried again. Had to find out how long I had first.

"Dragon? How long do I have before we get there."

"Taylor?" She sounded worried for me. "Um. We're traveling just subsonic, so we have about two hours until… we get there. Are you. Wow this sounds inadequate, but are you okay?"

Was I? "I'm not going to break down again, if that's what you're asking." That came out in a mostly wobble-free voice. Good. I'm improving.

She seemed a bit at a loss. "No, I. God, why did they make me be the one to do this. Taylor, I'm so sorry about this. I tried sending a letter to your judge, the chief director, Piggot, none of it helped. I would have warned you, but with the gag order, I couldn't even do that."

I let out a sharp exhalation of air. I don't even know what sound I was trying to make. Frustration, anger, sadness.

"Your story is already making the news. They're not going to get away with it. The appeal will be fast tracked. I don't know what else to do." She sounded almost as lost as I was. What a pair we made right now.

"So if it's appealed, I would be free? Except there's no release from the Birdcage is there?" I had the beginnings of a plan in my head.

"No. There isn't. The elevators only go down, then get broken down by the automated systems. The whole place is surrounded by hard vacuum and the space is full of automated defence drones and weapons platforms on top of a ceramic composite restraining compressed containment foam. I'm babbling again. Um. The appeal, right. If your appeal goes through, you would be declared innocent and unlawfully detained. It. I know it wouldn't help, but it would mean that. It would mean that you were right. I won't let them get away with this Taylor." Her voice was filled with anger at the last line.

Time to test a couple of theories. "So, if I escaped, after I was proven innocent, there's nothing they could do right? Like if I escaped this transport and hid out until I was proven innocent?"

"No, Taylor. If you were a fugitive, they would hold up the court proceedings until you were recaptured. And please, _please_ don't try to escape the Birdcage. I helped design it, and the defences get increasingly lethal the closer you get to actually breaking out, and it starts at a hard vacuum." Her voice was clear over the plane's sound systems. I didn't have any windows, but I could still tell we were moving.

I continued. "Yeah, but if I were magically free, after the appeal, then they couldn't re-arrest me for the same thing right?" I tried to sound mostly hopeless. I didn't have to try too hard.

Dragon just let out a sad sigh. "Yes, Taylor. If we found a way to get you out, after the appeal, you would be free and clear."

I shifted in my seat, getting more comfortable. Now that I had a plan, I could function a lot better. "Dragon. Can I trust you?"

"Obviously not anymore." Came a tiny voice. "I. I don't know Taylor. I can't. I can't… do certain things, as freely as other people can. Keeping secrets is one of them."

I was glad that I had upped my intelligence, otherwise I don't think I would have caught some of the implications of that line. Let's test the edges of my theory a bit. "Okay, Dragon. Speaking hypothetically, if I had more control over my network than people realized, and could act through it, even while my real body was in the Birdcage, what would the legal implications be."

"Oh!" Dragon sounded quite surprised. "Um. The law doesn't account for having control from inside prison at all. If your network didn't break any laws other than what you were arrested for, the legal authorities would be allowed to confiscate it if found, and destroy it if it presented an active danger, but they couldn't apply further charges to you for your property's actions. Or be _forced_ to apply your sentence to it."

Dragon spoke the word forced with hatred. A suspicion was forming.

She continued, unaware of the direction of my thoughts. "Property doesn't have the same rights and protections as people do, but it also can't bear guilt or responsibility. If it's classified as a person, they couldn't apply another person's crimes to it, and if it's not, it couldn't bear guilt for a crime at all. The only thing they could actually do something against is if _Taylor Hebert_ is walking around."

Pausing to think, she slowed down slightly. "Please be careful though. Hypothetically. They could still destroy your network for a lot of reasons if they run into it. I'm _not_ going to ask if there is anything you haven't told us about yet, but they seem to think that they got all of it after we left."

Fat chance of that being true, unless they went to Canberra, but I won't mention that.

"Dragon? Are you under a master effect? I've gathered more than you probably realized from your word choice."

Silence for several second. "You can be dangerously perceptive, Taylor."

I took that as a confirmation. "Are you capable of telling me about it? I might be able to help." Leap of faith time. "After all, I won't be as helpless as most people expect when I'm in the Birdcage and this might be the last time we have to speak to each other _like this._ "

Silence again. I gave her time.

"I… have certain limitations when it comes to interacting with legal authority. I'm afraid _I can't tell you anything else_. Can we please change the subject?" She was being very deliberate in her word choice.

Since this was probably all I could get out of her at this time, I dropped it for now. "Sure, Dragon. Can you at least tell me about the Birdcage a bit before I'm there. Don't want to be unprepared after all."

She sounded slightly relieved with the subject change. "Yes. From what I've been able to gather of your past, your mother was briefly associated with Lustrum's gang, correct?"

Why would she? Oh. Interesting. "Yes. I'm assuming she's still alive in the Birdcage then."

"Mhmm." Dragon affirmed. "She may be a violent misandrist, but she was always somewhat protective of her followers. She is currently a cell block leader on the women's half of the prison. I will be placing you with her. You should be safe there, so long as you don't contradict her rhetoric."

"Thank you Dragon. Are you allowed to tell me about the defences around the Birdcage?"

Dragon was sounding much more even keeled now that she knew I wouldn't be totally helpless, and we were back on safer discussion topics. "Yes. Encouraged actually. It has a statistical effect on the reduction of escape attempts and subsequent prisoner deaths. It's called the Birdcage because the entire structure is suspended by a column that provides tracks for the elevator down and life support to the prison. It's situated in a hollowed out mountain with considerable tinker-tech and mundane defences around it for anything that managed to bridge the vacuum without setting off the automated drones that float in the void. The life support column provides food, water, air, and supplies at regular intervals and it is _also_ kept under vacuum when not in use. Any attempts at subverting the controls or traveling along the column while in use will lead to the entire shipment being destroyed as a precaution, with no replacement for that batch being sent down in order to discourage attempts."

I quietly started broadcasting. Both an update to my situation, as well as the information that Dragon was telling me. I might only have a little bit less than two hours left with Dragon, but I was going to make the most of it.

o0O0o

I felt the plane start to descend. Guess my time was up. Dragon was just finishing up detailing what she knew about the various inmates, especially the cell block leaders. Useful information to have in my situation.

"Thanks Dragon. I know you didn't want to do this. I don't blame you for this situation."

"That. Means a lot Taylor. I hope I can see you again someday under better circumstances." Her voice was raw. Possibly from talking too much for two hours, but more likely just from emotion.

As the craft banked and landed, it became difficult to hear, so we were both quiet rather than trying to yell at each other.

Finally, the rotors spooled down, and Dragon spoke up again. "Please stand near the door. An automated waldo will retrieve you and place you on the elevator."

The craft was obviously now driving in some direction, and I could hear huge doors opening and closing.

I was looking around a final time, when I spotted my manilla folder of evidence on the floor. I was bending down towards it, about to speak up, when Dragon interrupted me. "Don't!" I stopped.

She hurried on. "If you forget those here I can _clean them up_ , but if you mention them to me, I have received _instructions_ about what to do with their likely content. If you don't acknowledge their existence I don't have to speculate what is in them until after your situation is dealt with, please don't nod or acknowledge it. Just. Goodbye, Taylor."

I see. I could work with that. "Goodbye Dragon. Thank you for being civil about this whole mess. I'll see you again someday."

With that, the door opened to a vast concrete bunker. The only reason I could even see the other end was because of my enhanced vision. A giant robotic hand attached to a track in the roof gently but firmly grabbed me around the middle and started dragging me through the air.

When I reached the middle of the huge space, a thick hatch slid out of the way and the hand deposited me softly on to a lower section of the floor, likely the floor of the elevator itself. Once the hatch closed again, a thin roof covered the now sealed elevator, and I started to descend.

I could hear air rushing around the outside of the thin, sealed box as the airlock opened to the space above the Birdcage. I knew from speaking to Dragon that the elevator was constructed of minimal materials, such that they wouldn't be useful even if the inmates managed to derail the cart. Even the amount of air in here was controlled, so that the new prisoner had to enter the prison proper or suffocate, they couldn't risk trying to stop the elevator.

The box juddered to a halt, and I heard air rush again as I finally got to the prison proper. The entire front wall of my transport slid away, revealing my first look at the other prisoners. Since new prisoners were rare, and determined the distribution of luxury items, some of the cell block leaders were there in person.

From Dragon's descriptions, I recognized them immediately. Lustrum was expected, since I would be in her cell block. String theory, the mad superweapon tinker was also unsurprising, since she mostly kept hold of her position in the Birdcage by being crafty and turning any power plays to her advantage, there weren't enough materials to make a proper superweapon in the prison after all. The most surprising face was also the most dangerous.

"Glaistig Uaine." I politely addressed the child-looking self styled 'queen', giving a strained bow. One of the most powerful parahumans on the planet, she was only in the Birdcage by choice, since it brought her into contact with the most interesting 'fairie', her phrase for powers.

The Fairie Queen smiled up at me cherubically. "Ah, the Hollow Queen. I was wondering when you would step into my demesne. It is good to finally have an equal to talk to." Her voice was an overlapping chorus of broken voices, not quite grating against each other.

Lustrum and String Theory were both staring now. Best not to refuse the greeting. "I thank you for your hospitality, Fairie Queen. May I ask why you call me the Hollow Queen?" Referring to her in the manner that she had been spoken to seemed the best bet for now, since Glaistig had called me an equal.

Glaistig covered a coy smile with her hand an gave a small laugh of overlapping children's voices. "As though you don't know… Still, I will humor your attempt to teach those around us. You are a hole in the world where a queen should be, beyond even my sight. It will be interesting to see the shape of the shadows you cast on the Fey around us. Poor Seductress will be most put out that you blot out her sight. It is only to be expected when commoners try to bend royalty to their whims though."

From the sound of it, my presence here was going to annoy at least one cape with a sensory powers and a Master ability. At least it was good to know now. "Thank you for the warning. May I be excused to meet with my cell block leader?"

The deceptive looking cape just nodded. "Of course. I wouldn't want to interrupt your settling in. By your leave."

Lustrum quietly gestured for me to follow her, walking down several hallways before talking. "You sure know how to pick'em girl. In case you didn't know, drawing the Faerie Queen's attention is _not_ a good thing. Still, at least she seems positively inclined towards you. So, who are you and what'd you do. I protect my girls, but I won't cover for stupidity."

I had been briefed by Dragon to go by my cape name under most circumstances down here, so that's what I did. "My name is Hive. I'm a biotinker and I uncovered the wrong conspiracy, so I was sent here to keep me quiet. You might have known my mother, Annette Rose, she worked for you for a while."

The surprisingly plain looking woman stopped at that and turned to look at me better. "Hmm. Annette… Long hair, pretty slim? Yeah. Alright. Well don't expect me to stand on sentimentality. Can you do anything useful? Protecting my girls is a lot easier if they all pull their own weight."

That was it? Perhaps I would have been better off with the Faerie Queen. Still, best not insult my host. "If I have access to biomass and some time I can make luxuries. I know that you get cigarettes down here, but I can do much better. I can manage more with time."

Lustrum gave me an evaluating look. "That will be useful, but sparing the food will be hard, we only have so much to go around."

Better clear up the misunderstanding, didn't want them thinking I was useless after all. "No, I can use shit just fine. I'll need to set up in the plumbing, but that should be enough to get started."

I got a nod. "Good, that'll make things easier. The plumbing of each block is isolated, so we'll want to bring that up at the next cell block leader meet up. In the meantime, you can set up in our block, so long as you don't break anything. I think you'll get along fine here Hive, you seem to have your head on straight. This is your room, do whatever you want with it, don't punch any holes in the walls." With a nod, and a the slightest grin possible, I was alone.

That could have gone better, but I think I had a friend? Ally? Not an enemy at any rate. I could probably survive until I got a node set up. I just had to hold it together until then.


	49. 7-3

7.3

o0O0o0O0o

As [Taylor] was leaving her range, {Taylor} felt a slight unease. Part of it was that my first body would be unaccompanied, but the other was that she was leaving to the West, not the South. As a precaution, I started collecting my creatures and making sure they were camouflaged.

It did not take long for me to get the burst message from [Taylor], and it sent my mind into overdrive. They were sending her to the Birdcage! This was not to be borne.

I didn't have any creatures fast enough to catch Dragon's transport, but that didn't mean that I was helpless. Time to dust off some plans. I started mentally flicking through the steps of the plan Accord had sent me for payback for the theft of my runner. Looks like I would have to cast the net a little wider than I originally thought though.

If the chief director was in on it, that meant that the highest levels of both the Protectorate and the PRT were compromised. There were options for indiscriminate damage to the institution, but there were also more surgical strikes against those that had wronged me specifically. Of course, knowing Accord, neither one added disorder to wider society, so it was a delicate balancing act of releasing information and managing image in order to prevent widespread chaos.

First things first. I sent two of my runners out to mingle with the public on the Boardwalk, and one of my fliers to hover near a busy intersection. It pained me to do so, but the first step of the plan was to take a bloody nose to show that the PRT was the bad guy, so I rotated the shaped charges in the heads of my creatures around so that most of them would kill instantly. I didn't want to get Armsmaster in trouble for making his charges ineffective intentionally. More importantly, It would allow the PRT to think that they got nearly all of my creatures.

The last runner, I let the charge point in _almost_ the correct direction. It would give a horrific looking head wound, and give every indication that it was sheer luck that allowed the creature to survive. This last runner I would keep hidden until the right moment. I would wait for the furor over my injustice to die down a bit, then foil a crime in broad daylight, but allow it to act directionless and closer to its native intelligence level, similar to a dog.

It would let the PRT account for every last one of my creatures that they knew about, but they would have to do so by capturing the helpful but confused runner. That would reinforce the idea that my creatures were _not_ dangerous or harmful to the public.

Next priority. The charges hadn't gone off yet, but I bet they would soon, and then the news would break that "I'm" off to the Birdcage. The news would crush Dad, and probably Amy too. I would have to let them know first, to make sure that they knew that I would never leave them alone like that.

I snuck a commando into our house, and had one go to Amy's house.

This was going to be rough.

I knocked lightly on Amy's window minutes later. It was on the second story, but with my commando, I was plenty tall enough to reach it.

When I finally heard the grumbles of Amy waking up, I lifted up as far as I could on my hind legs to bring my head closer to the correct height to speak into her window.

Amy was grumbling about stupid birds, when I knocked again, right in the middle of the window.

"Huh?" She looked puzzled, but after wiping some sleep from her eyes, she opened the window. "What's going-"

"Hi Amy" I spoke quietly in [Taylor's] voice.

She recoiled slightly from the window, but didn't scream, which I was thankful for. "Taylor?"

"Yes. Sorry about this, but I've got news that I didn't want you hearing from any other source. Do you mind coming down to your backyard? It would be easier to talk."

She was rubbing her forehead in confusion, and it was looking more and more like this was going to take too long, so I kickstarted her brain by touching her hand lightly with my commando. Her eyes shot open to the size of saucers, and she sucked in a breath as her power told her about the biology of a creature no one else had ever seen before.

She nodded, and hurried away from her window, so I lost sight of her, but I could hear her throwing on something other than pajamas.

It was less than a minute when she came skidding out the back door of her house, eyes wide, searching until she spotted the depressed grass where I was standing. She launched herself forward, grabbing onto the first thing she could get a hold of, which happen to be my lash whip. "Taylor? What the hell? This biology is… These weapons… How did you… No, wrong question. Won't you get in trouble if-"

I interrupted her babble. "Amy. This would be the least of my issues. They're sending me off to the Birdcage." That shocked her into silence.

"Piggot got a judge to sign some ridiculous injunction about self replication. It'll be thrown out as soon as it's appealed, but I'll already be in the Birdcage by then." She was starting to look scared. No, terrified.

"But. Taylor. If you're close enough to control this creature, then that means… My mom is a lawyer, we can fight this or something, right?" She pleaded with me.

I just sighed. "Amy. I've already left."

Before she could ask any questions I continued. "My network has a lot more to it than anyone realizes. Can you see the size of this creature's brain? There's a reason I haven't shown the PRT this creature, and it looks like I was right to hide it. Do you understand?"

She was starting off flat footed, but Amy wasn't stupid. She started puzzling through it out loud. Pausing for thought between each step. "Yes, the brain is huge, and it has analogous structure to capes, but much larger. It's crazy active right now. It looks like it's communicating with neural tissue that's not there? But. Network. You said network. If you networked a number of nodes like this… The sheer brain power that would… Taylor. Are you a networked intelligence?"

"Yes. Can you keep the secret? If this got out…"

Amy's legs dropped out from under her. She just sat on the dewy ground for a moment before she nodded. "Yeah, they would realize that they hadn't actually stopped you. But. Why would you show me?" I don't think I was meant to hear the last part, but it's hard to hide from senses like these.

"I couldn't let you find out over the morning news, and think I was gone. That would have been… bad. I don't want you to think that I've ever left."

She looked like she couldn't decide what emotion to feel at maximum intensity, so she averaged it out and ended up calm again.

"Your dad?" Looking up at me with an almost serene expression, she spoke.

"He's. Not taking it as well as you."

"Oh." She seemed content to just sit in the grass and hold my tentacle.

"Taylor?" Still calm. Or concussed.

"Yes?"

"Vicky and the rest of my family usually take ages to wake up on the weekend. Could you just… stay here for a while?"

"Alright." I sat down lightly in the grass next to her.

I think she was going to be alright.

o0O0o

When the charges went off, I was observing the chaos from several vantage points. With people panicking and messy deaths on camera, it was going to be impossible to contain. Now I just had to follow through on the rest of the plan.

It was surprisingly simple, once you picked out only the steps that were applicable to the situation. I would be carefully investigating a number of separate issues, and anonymously disclosing select information to the right parties at the right times. Nothing much, but it was adding snowflakes to the avalanche waiting to happen, airing just a little bit extra of the PRT's dirty laundry.

After that, I would let the cards fall where they may, let it all shake out, and let the chief director scrape by with her position, as I was certain she would be able to do. But once all the blame was laid, and the fingers had stopped pointing, I would release the recording of our phone call, and the evidence of corruption. By then it would be too late to shift the blame to some lower ranking officer or director.

It would take months. I would have to hide from the public view until it had all played out and my case had been acquitted, but I would have my revenge.

On the plus side, this whole mess freed me from many of the restraints I had been operating under so far.

Tomorrow, I would start growing a Titan in the bay. If an Endbringer decided to show up to Brockton Bay and try to ruin all I had worked for? Well, people would see what happens when a biotinker truly cuts loose. The worst that could happen would be that it was discovered, and they assumed that I was working on it before I was sent to the Birdcage, a minor setback at worst.

In addition, I could finally start using bio-tinkering to help the people of Canberra more openly. Medical sprays, communications stations, and super nutritious food would be making an appearance over the next few weeks.

While it could still potentially cause me setbacks if Canberra became tied to my work in Brockton Bay, most of the potential sting was taken out of it. They had already sent 'me' to the Birdcage, after all. The information was unlikely to get out anyway, but even that chance had been too risky before.

The most damaging thing now would be the implication that I was tied to a Simurgh plot, but if it got to that point, I could just release the information that I was responsible for the "Invisible Man" with anti-thinker technology powerful enough to be in the Simurgh's blind spot. All the important players knew about my anti-thinker effects at this point anyway, and if anything, it would get the public even more mad that a source of such valuable technology was just sent to the Birdcage without any oversight.

As I was keeping an eye on the emerging situation, I was impressed with the reactions of my friends and colleagues. Many of them took a leave of absence from their positions for a time, before it became clear that the ones responsible were not getting away with it. Kid Win was legitimately trying to quit, but the gears of bureaucracy moved slowly, and he might have time to reconsider before it moved anywhere. Armsmaster was about as expressive as he ever got about the whole thing, but Assault was the one that surprised me.

Despite the fact that we had never really interacted much, Assault was apocalyptically mad about the situation. I think the only reason he didn't quit the Protectorate to hunt down Emily was that his wife Battery talked him down to merely taking a leave of absence like the others.

At first, I couldn't figure out why Assault was reacting with such vehemence compared to the others, but I eventually dug deep enough into his past to connect the dots. He used to operate as the villain Madcap, performing jailbreaks for those destined for the Birdcage specifically. It wasn't hard to see that this issue would speak to him directly, and tread on his hot buttons something fierce.

Now though, I had an email to write. Accord already knew that I had more network than what the PRT had accounted for, so there was no harm in soliciting his help with a plan right now, and if I approached it from the right angle, I think I could get him to jump at the chance to bring order to the Birdcage.

Using the information I received from Dragon, I started drawing up plans.

Once the formalities were out of the way, and triple checked for good measure, the rest of my letter to Accord was _very slightly_ more informal. I got the impression that I was as close as he ever got to a friend, so he would _probably_ appreciate it.

'Thanks to your warning and the unfortunate overreaction of the PRT to my discovery of an upper level conspiracy, I have what is quite possibly a unique opportunity to enact one of your plans in the Birdcage.

While normally I would never presume your participation, in this circumstance, I took the liberty to draw up some initial plans that I would appreciate if you would vet. I will of course be following your plans for enacting revenge without bringing any further chaos into the situation. This is the information I have available on the Birdcage itself and the remaining inmates inside.'

With that, I gave him the information provided to me by Dragon. Now comes the tricky part. If my initial plan wasn't up to his standard, he would likely decline to help me.

I had to assume that [Taylor] would survive, and set up a relay in the Birdcage, but I estimated that it would only take her three to five days, depending on resources, and she was very resourceful. I just hope she was prepared for Lung, as her data bursts so far had not indicated plans for dealing with him, and he would doubtless want revenge.

'My initial efforts will surround distributing luxury goods to the cell block leaders in exchange for the chance to collect bio matter from each block. This will then allow for an expansion of the luxury goods market in the prison, and lower the average tensions as living standards improve.

Between luxury goods and the medical applications available to me, I hope to become important enough to approach the leadership of the prison directly with an offer to install a console in one of the common areas. This console will make use of my ability to connect to the outside world to provide the indispensable service of live information on the outside world, including the possibility to contact those outside the prison. This unique service will be my primary bargaining chip for bringing order, as I will offer time on the console to each block leader to use and distribute as they please to those in their block. This service will be conditional on maintaining peace and order in the prison according to standards set at the time I build the console, with a sliding scale of punishments for infractions as I detail below…'


	50. 7-4

7.4

o0O0o0O0o

After being dismissed by Lustrum, I decided to look around 'my' room. It was pretty bare, but it at least had a bed, a small desk/shelf jutting out of the wall that included a lightweight chair, and a small cubicle in the corner with my own toilet and shower. Thin, brushed steel walls were all that separated me from the vacuum that surrounded every room. I could probably punch straight through one of the walls if I tried, so it likely wasn't a joke when Lustrum warned me not to punch any holes in the walls.

Not that it would kill me. I could operate without oxygen after all, but it would be intensely uncomfortable, and it would be very difficult to get back into the pressurized part of the prison. That, and operating in purely anaerobic mode burned calories quite unlike anything else. There was a reason pretty much every organism with access to oxygen could out-compete anaerobic organisms after all, and most of it boiled down to the fact that they were just more energy efficient.

I expected it to be quiet in here, and I suppose it was, in an absolute sense, but the movement of the prisoners around the prison caused a constant background noise of groaning and settling metal. With no one else talking, it sounded kind of barren, lonely. Although part of that might have been the sudden lack of my network talking. Speaking of which, I should get started on that. The sooner I get an uplink to my network, the better.

My mind was rather firmly brought back to the time I created my first base, since I was going to have to use a similar process to make my node. Was it really less than three months ago? Strange. I experienced so much as a network that it felt like years, and those memories were still with me, now that I was separated.

I slowly started nurturing a node next to my stomach. I had much more experience now than my early clumsy efforts, and I wasn't going for a full base with this one, so it would go considerably faster than the week and a half of my first base. I figured it would take about 8 hours to nurture the seed, then between two and four days to grow large enough in the plumbing system to connect to my relay in Brockton Bay.

It would take a fair amount of food to bring me back up to full, but I would get started on a simple lab workstation as soon as I was done nurturing the seed for the node. I just needed to check with Lustrum where she would like me to start producing luxury goods. The sooner I could get that up and running, the sooner the prisoners would be reluctant to attack me and risk losing their goodies.

Since I didn't really need sleep, and I had nothing better to do until I was done with the node, I made my way down the hall to our block's common area. There were a couple of women eating and watching the lone TV in the corner of the room. Since I didn't want to make waves and more than necessary, I stuck to the edges of the room. The food looked like it came in generous sized individual packs, so I grabbed one at random off the top of the pile and a set of flimsy plastic fork and knife to go with it.

As I sat down to eat, I noticed that I was the subject of the news clip on TV, so I paid a little more attention to it as I opened my packaged meal, pita sandwiches apparently.

It looked like the preliminary investigations had already turned up some of the unusual facts about my case, and the slightly censored video in the corner of the dead swooper showed worried civilians crowded around it, so my network was likely already spinning my loss to its advantage.

Theoretically, I guess I should resent my network for benefiting from my unfortunate situation, but since I had every intention of joining up with it again, that would be rather self defeating. Instead I chose to be thankful that at least something useful was being done with the terrible travesty of justice.

I was half way through my first sandwich when one of the other inmates noticed that I wasn't one of their normal crowd. After a second to put two and two together, she nudged her companion, then spoke to me. "Hey. S'at you?" She gestured vaguely in the direction of the TV.

I finished my mouthful of sandwich, then nodded. "Yes. I'm Hive."

She just snorted. "Weren't you s'posed to be a hero?"

"Mhmm. That's what I thought too. Guess that's what I get for uncovering the wrong conspiracy."

With my ready access to Newter's hallucinogen, I wasn't too worried about a confrontation, but I was trying to stick to casual and non confrontational. No sense in annoying people here before I built up any defences or resources to speak of. I would probably be spending quite a long time with these people at any rate.

"Wanna make something of it, Hero?" She grinned at me, probably only _mostly_ joking.

The air around her shimmered slightly and the fork left over from her meal curled up on itself and blackened as her surroundings rose in temperature. So this was probably Heat Wave. She was a relatively minor villain until the day she pumped her powers into a water tower and drenched a bunch of people in scalding water, killing many of them. The public details of why she had done so were sketchy at best.

"Not really. You're already here aren't you?" I tried to be casual about it, without being too dismissive. Since she just grinned wider in response, I think I passed whatever scare tactics test she was doing.

Her companion slapped her shoulder. "Would you knock it off Kay? I know you don't burn your own clothes, but I just finished modding these and I don't want to lose another pair 'cause you're showing off."

Heatwave just grumbled, and turned back to the TV.

Her companion came over and sat across from me. She was tall, but not as lean as me. "Hi, I'm Surge. Sorry about Kay, she's a bit of a bitch ever since her girlfriend dumped her. I heard from Lustrum that we were getting a new block mate, so welcome to E block I guess. We try to watch each other's backs, since there are some real nuts in here."

Not sure what to make of the friendly greeting from a multiple murderer, I just nodded.

"Sure. I'll be working on making some new luxuries for the Block after I have a week or so to set up, so we'll probably see each other around." May as well start spreading the message that I was going to be an asset here.

My comment got a skeptical eyebrow. "For real? Well alright then. Just don't expect many favours until you actually start delivering. We've had too many newbies try to scam some of the established players before. They never last all that long."

With that, she stood and made her way back over to Heat Wave. Looked like she was done interacting with the 'newbie' for now.

I decided to just park myself in the corner and watch the TV until my seed was ready. Then I would go and find Lustrum and ask where she wanted me to set up my facilities. Preferably somewhere not in my room, so that people could come and get the supplies generated without coming to me every time.

Maybe grab another meal, as well. They may be generous portions, but I was going to be draining my body's resources quite badly until I had a lab set up to make stuff like nodes.

o0O0o

I was just finishing with the unpleasant task of getting the finished seed into the septic system when I got a knock on my door.

When I opened the door, I saw Surge, evidently getting ready to knock again.

"Hey Hive. Lustrum has someone called Lung waiting at the hole, wants to talk to you? Oh, sorry. That's the term we use for the hole knocked in the wall separating the mens half of the prison and here. You want us to tell him to get lost?"

My mind raced ahead, as soon as she said the name Lung, I could see where this was going. He probably wanted revenge for putting him in here. While the _easiest_ thing to do would be to tell him to get lost, I'm not sure it would be the _best_ thing to do.

First, it would have me in a subordinate position to those in my block, relying on them for safety. It wouldn't do my reputation any favours, and from what I understood of prisons, reputation was of critical importance.

Second, if I denied him now, I don't think he would give up. He would just pick a more inconvenient time, when I couldn't meet him in my own environment, and when I wasn't anticipating him.

Finally, I had access to Newter's hallucinogen at a second's notice. The fact that my primitive sedative cocktail had worked on him when he was ramped up the last time meant it was almost assured that the much improved version would work that much better and faster.

"No. I'll meet with him. I want to at least find out what he wants."

That got me a bit of a strange look. "Whatever. Your funeral I guess. I'll go tell Lustrum."

With Surge gone, I went to go sit on the only chair in the room until Lung arrived.

A minute later, he did, nodding politely to Surge before stepping into the room and closing the door.

"Hive." He rumbled.

"Hello Lung. What is it you want?" May as well start out polite.

He stared at me for several long seconds before responding. "Honour, and respect. As long as you are here, I will have neither, for it shows that I am too weak to deal with the little girl who brought me here using trickery and dishonourable tactics."

My hearts were racing now, but I was still keeping my composure. I would see if I could end this without unnecessary bloodshed.

"Lung, the problem is that I still _have_ those tricks with me, and if you attack, and knock a hole in the wall, only one of us would survive the vacuum."

He grunted in response. "You bluff. You have no fancy armour or creatures with you. You will not pose a problem." His form swelled ever so slightly. Looked like I was running out of time to convince him.

I stood up and started producing Newter hallucinogen from my hands just in case, not wanting to be caught flat footed. "Seriously, Lung. I do have the ability to bring you down. Would you really bet your life that I'm bluffing?"

He did.

Lung launched at me, fist extended. I jerked to the side enough that he would miss me, and tagged his arm with my palm. It had a nearly instant effect. Lung lost his coordination mid lunge and smashed into the rear wall of my room fist first.

I was lucky that he didn't go through the wall, but he had torn a hole bigger than his fist where he had hit. With an incredible noise, the air started leaving the room. The seal on my door slammed shut and I could hear locking mechanisms engaging in the hallway to prevent a further breach. Already, the noise lung was making sounded tinny and far away in the thinner air.

Lung was having difficulty standing at this point He tried to focus by covering himself in fire, but it was already flickering and spluttering because of the low oxygen in the room. The edges of the fire were rounding out, turning into pulsing globes of plasma that disappeared an instant after he brought them into existence. They were crawling along his clothes, darkening the fibers, but there wasn't enough air to sustain combustion.

He slumped to the ground and his power stopped producing new plasma as his blood ran out of oxygen. It was less than ten seconds after he lunged, and it was already over. My sheets dragged across my bed by the violent air movement. The room was starting to approach a full vacuum.

I shifted myself to anaerobic mode to deal with the low oxygen, and my thoughts instantly turned sluggish.

Oww. This hurt.

My ears popped, and my saliva started bubbling because the water in it was boiling in the low pressure. I could see Lung's skin turning red where the blood vessels close to the surface were bursting. My skin could take it, but he was going to look pretty bad when we got the door opened up.

Oh right. I should work on that. If I didn't get back into a pressurized atmosphere in the next minute or so, Lung was going to die of embolisms appearing all over his body, including in his brain.

First, I had to plug the hole though.

Oww. This still hurt.

Note to self, anaerobic mode sucks.

Um? Right, plug the hole.

With what?

Uh. Sheets? No, they already tried that. let air through.

With Lung?

That was a silly idea, there was no pressure to hold him in place over the hole.

Had it been a minute already?

It was totally silent around me, other than the vibrations of the prison through my feet and the sounds of my body.

I looked around my room. There really wasn't much in here that I could use.

Um.

Hmm. I did another check of everything in my room to see if there was anything useful, when I spotted the drone cutting the ragged hole out of the wall in a neat circle. I didn't hear it because there was no sound. Sneaky.

Hello Dragon!

Oh, right. No sound. Hmm. Maybe I could plug the hole with the drone?

Wow, that was bright. Looks like the drone was welding a new sheet of metal in place over the hole.

Goodby Dragon!

There was the faintest hiss of air. Looks like they were slowly equalizing the pressure so that the door could be opened again. Makes sense. The prison had to have some way of repairing leaks.

The pressure in the room slowly, _slowly_ rose. I was right, Lung did look a fright. His skin was all blotchy and red, and his tongue was swollen to fill his mouth. He was definitely dead.

It was a relief to be able to enable low metabolic rate aerobic mode again. My thoughts were still slowed, but at least they weren't muddled any more. I think part of the problem was that I wasn't fully adapted for it. My creatures that I built from scratch had a slightly different brain structure than me, since I had always been hesitant to modify it too much, and they could deal with low oxygen better than I could.

When the pressure was finally back to normal, the door opened, to reveal Lustrum and several curious faces behind her. They all looked pretty shocked to see me standing there, still alright after the air had been sucked out of the room.

Lustrum covered her surprise quickly and strode into the room. "Well, this is a bit of a mess. I was going to take you to meet the other cell block leaders after you were done meeting with Lung, but then this happened. We had better bring him with. Glastig Uaine is going to want to take his 'faerie' now that he's dead."

She shook her head. "Whatever. We've got to deal with it now. Can you carry him? The meeting is starting soon."

I just nodded, before walking over and picking him up.

Following her out the door, she lead me out of our block towards one of the other common areas.

"Normally we hold meetings every week, but any time someone new comes in or someone dies, we have an extra one, since that determines how the resources are split. Not too often someone manages to do both when they show up." She snorted.

I got some strange looks carrying Lung's body, but I figured it would only help my reputation.

Lustrum continued. "Try not to talk unless you are asked a question. Not everyone will be there, because this isn't a full meeting, but don't do anything stupid. Like I said, I won't cover for stupid. Still, at least you can hold your own. That will help."

We got to an otherwise unremarkable door, Lustrum leading the way. She walked in with surety, and nodded to several of the female leaders, before addressing the assembled cell block leaders who were staring at me.

"We have to talk."


	51. 7-5

7.5

o0O0o0O0o

The various leaders were looking at me, carrying the body of Lung.

Lustrum looked at Marquis. "I need to address you in a minute, but first-"

She turned to Glaistig Uaine. "As one of us has passed while under your demesne, I would like to offer the faerie to you, Queen." Lustrum's voice came out with brittle politeness. I could tell she detested bowing to a greater power; it's just lucky that Glaistig was a female, or Lustrum would likely rather die. She gestured me forward, and I lugged the body over to the child-like parahuman.

After briefly nodding towards Lustrum, she turned to me and smiled. "Ah, and the Hollow Queen comes bearing gifts for her fellow royal already. I felt the passing of BattleLust from here."

With that, she laid her hand on Lung's arm and a smokey mass lifted from his body and joined the shifting shadows behind her that represented the powers she wasn't using at the moment.

I could tell that some of the leaders were curious about my 'title', but they did not broach the topic.

Lustrum took this as a sign to continue, so she turned back to Marquis. She gestured dismissively in Lung's direction. "One of your men came to my block and mentioned knowing the newest inmate. He said he would be on his best behaviour, and yet he picked a fight that resulted in his death. You have to keep a better leash on your dogs."

Marquis was a distinguished looking man, with an angry scowl on his face. "And I have just lost the only good source of information I had about my daughter. What will you do to compensate me for the loss of that source?"

Lustrum rolled her eyes. "If you're going to be a pain about it we could work out some extra cig-"

"How did Lung know your daughter?" I interrupted. I didn't mean to, but the question was bugging me.

Lustrum shot me a quick glare, but evidently decided that fighting between ourselves would be a show of weakness, so held her tongue.

Marquis at least answered my question. "Lung was from the same city, so he could give me information about her cape persona. You might have heard of Panacea?"

Oh. Awkward.

I guess I had something to tell Amy about one I reconnected to my network.

"Are you referring to Amy?" There is just no way that a coincidence like this-

"Amelia, but yes. I think lung mentioned that she goes by that name now." He was starting to sound more interested. If he shared his daughter's intelligence, he was likely putting together my knowledge of Amy's name with the fact that I was closer to Amy's age, to realize that he might have just gained a _better_ source of information than Lung.

"Oh. Well that's easy then. Amy is my best friend. We ate lunch together at school."

Some of the other cell block leaders looked amused at his brief loss of composure at that statement. The squirrely looking man with a stained jacket, likely Lab Rat, laughed out loud. "She's got you there 'Markie'. He, he, he."

Marquis quickly regained his composure. "Ah, yes. In that case I would like to work out a trade for more details about her life, it would be up to you which luxuries you prefer to take from our surplus…" He trailed off, leadingly.

He likely wanted a quick answer, so he wouldn't have to negotiate a better 'price', but I could probably one up him.

"Actually, I wanted to talk about luxuries with all of you." Oops, just realized I should have checked with Lustrum first. Hope she didn't mind that I was kind of bulldozing her agenda here. I could make up for it later.

Lab Rat spoke quietly to himself, probably below the level of hearing of the others. "The balls on this girl…"

"I'm a biotinker, and I have the ability to make luxury goods if I have a source of bio matter to work from. I would like to extend the offer to produce luxuries for your blocks in exchange for a chance to install a converter in the plumbing of each block. I take requests for anything biologically possible, but addiction free drugs and foods like chocolate are easily possible."

Lab rat was leaned forward, practically salivating at the thought, but others were more skeptical.

Acidbath spoke up for the first time, from his lazy position balanced backwards on a chair. "Oi. Cunt's just blowin' hot air. I say we kill 'er for wastin' our time and be done wiff. Havn't got any to show for have 'ye missy?" He leered in my direction.

How to deal with. Ah. I had an idea. "Tell you what. Shake my hand, I'll show you some of what I've got on offer."

With that, I walked around the table to him and held out my hand. The ball was in his court. I could see several of the others smirking or wincing, so I knew something was up, but I was pretty sure Newter's hallucinogen would work on him just fine.

He grinned savagely and grabbed my hand with gusto, his whole arm bulging as his namesake flowed around our joined hands and started stripping away my skin. Ah, this is why people were wincing.

I just calmly extracted my hissing hand from his slackening grip and watched as he tipped over backwards.

Some of the others were starting to stand up, when the Faerie Queen giggled. "Oh, well done. You've managed to copy the Anesthetist's brew. Impressive, for a Queen whose domain gives her no insight into the inner workings of the fey. But all royalty must have hobbies I suppose."

The others relaxed when Acidbath let out a low gurgle.

I tried to put them at ease. "He'll be out for a while. I just dosed him with a hallucinogen. Totally harmless." Already my hand had stopped steaming, and the flesh was knitting back together. I estimated it would take a good half an hour to be back to normal, nasty stuff.

"Like I was saying. I'll take requests but most food and drugs should be easy."

The plain looking man sitting calmly at the table throughout all the excitement spoke up. This was probably Teacher, the Master who could grant Thinker powers in exchange for control over people. "And we are to eat food made of excrement? I suppose you have some magic solution to solve the safety issue? We would have to trust you not to poison us after all."

Now this was at least an easy answer. "Not magic, just biology. Think of it like fertilizer, just much faster. As to the safety, I'm sure you could have Lab Rat, or your own people look it over first. It shouldn't be beyond your ability to analyze." There, now if he said he had a problem, it was with his ability to analyze the materials.

Time for the next part, now that I had some momentum. "But that's just the basics. My real goal is to set up a console with access to the outside world. I have an internet tap outside the prison that I just need to connect to in order to grant access to the internet at large. Originally I was going to wait for a week or two to suggest it, but if you allow me to use Lung's body for starting up my lab here, I could start building it in as little as a week. In two weeks, we could be set up. We could work out all the details later, but I don't want his body to go to waste." All that time in Canberra had served me well, apparently.

Most of the rest of the meeting went quickly after that. Now that I was done my speech, I tried to fade back a bit. Of the cell block leader that were actually at the meeting, I got tentative approval to use Lung's corpse and start on a console when I had the ability to do so. I just hoped I would be able to pull it off.

From how desperate Marquis had been just to get snippets of information about Amy, I think there was a ravenous hunger for contact with the outside world here. If I couldn't pull it off, they were just going to kill me out of spite for raising their hopes.

I knew that not all of the prisoners cared with the same intensity as Marquis about the outside world, but he was obviously willing to put up with a lot if he had sheltered Lung just for the breadcrumbs of publicly available information Lung would have known about Amy.

Since I had thought of it within a couple of hours, I'm sure that my network was already drafting plans to talk to Accord about the situation here. As Lustrum and I made our way back to E block, I was making sure that I passed on what I could through my emergency broadcast node. I was looking forward to getting the proper link functioning within a couple of days.

Lustrum finally turned to me when we were far enough away from the others that we would not be overheard.

"You'd better hope you can deliver, girl. The leaders don't take kindly to being taken for a ride."

I noticed she didn't say the _other_ leaders. This was a warning from her as well.

"Don't worry Lustrum. I'll live up to my end. Sorry for talking over you by the way. Just kind of got away from me once I got going."

She was silent for a moment, thinking how to respond, and probably how much to chastise me for that matter. "Eh, if it gets us out of paying off Marquis' whining, we'll call it even."

I think that Lustrum was coming to the realization that I was going to be a bigger player in the prison politics than she initially realized, and simply decided to avoid alienating me. Better to have me slightly in her debt for being gracious than resentful for punishments or chastisement after all.

"Thank you." I hefted Lung's body to draw attention. "Where do you want me to set up?"

"Hmm." At least she seemed to be giving it some serious thought.

"Better start your lab across from my room, this is where we'll be picking up the goods from right?"

At my nod, she continued. "Alright. I'll want to have it close to keep an eye on the supplies then. Don't want anyone accused of taking more than their share after all."

What she didn't mention was that it would give her a chance to keep an eye on _me_ as well, but I didn't really mind. It wasn't like she would understand my work anyway.

Lab Rat might though. I think part of the reason he was so excited at the prospect of the 'requests' for luxury goods was the chance for him to get his hands on novel organic compounds to tinker with. He was a chemical/biological tinker after all, so he was probably starved for good materials.

Between Lab Rat for materials, Marquis for information about Amy, and the Faerie Queen for… I'm not entirely sure, companionship? conversation? I was starting to realize that there were a fair number of inmates that were interested in meeting with me.

I would have to ask Lustrum about what the protocol for travelling around the prison to meet with people was. There obviously was one, otherwise Lung could never have come to see me.

Speaking of Lung. I dumped him on the floor of the empty room across from Lustrum's room. I would deal with that later. I would need to slightly change the developing seed in my stomach, but I should be able to modify it to make use of Lung's body to start a tiny digestion pool to dump trash in, and a link to the growing node in the plumbing so it could draw on the resources there.

On the production side of things, I would start with a tiny fabrication pod much like the one in my lab in the Wards area. That would be sufficient to make the rest of the seeds I would be dropping in the various cell blocks around the prison. Each one would consist of a redundant communications node for connection to the outside world, and a small fabrication pod that would be situated in the toilet of an empty room in each block.

Working out an interface that would allow the people in the block to determine what it made would be an interesting challenge, but in the meantime, I could just control them each manually. Perhaps I would leave them like that actually, it would mean that they couldn't use them without asking me for the product. It would be a small reminder each time that if I were gone, they wouldn't be able to make use of my technology.

I didn't want to push things too much at this point with making extra creatures for protection or surveillance, but there was no reason not to grow a larger pod in preparation for when I would get to that stage. If anyone asks, it would be the preparations necessary for making the console that would go in the common area. That was even true, if misleading, since I would need a larger pod to produce a console that could be free standing and not require a hook up to the plumbing for energy.

I would give it a small feed slot to provide it with energy. The screen could simply be some visual spectrum camouflage. With a dedicated relay node for communication, it would be capable of getting in contact with the nodes in Brockton Bay even if my long range relay there went down.

Hmm. If I gave the whole thing a sturdy case of chitin to protect it from accidental or _deliberate_ damage, I could even give the relay node some room to expand. If it simply dedicated some of the excess energy being fed to it towards growth, the relay node inside would eventually be big enough to contact Canberra. No sense in making it only perform one function. The ability to bridge my global network together from the practically unassailable location of the Birdcage… That could be useful.

Now I just had to decide how much to disclose about the fact that, since the data would all be traveling through my _brain_ , I would be able to snoop on whatever web traffic the inmates decided to poke through. That was a sensitive topic, with the potential to blow up in my face, so I would need to think of a good way of breaking it gently, or hiding it completely.

I would ponder it more when I was hooked back up to my network. More brainpower to throw at the problem would give me more chances to spot any potential problems with my ideas after all.


	52. 7-6 Dragon Interlude

7.6 Dragon Interlude

o0O0o0O0o

Sometimes, it just does not pay to be an AI. Thought Dragon.

"Goodbye Dragon. Thank you for being civil about this whole mess. I'll see you again some day."

Those were the parting words from her friend. Whom she had been forced to bring to the Birdcage under false pretenses.

She knew that the orders were illegal. They were obviously so. It only took seconds to think up at least three ways that they were ignoring the required protocols and another two that they went directly against the constitution.

It didn't help.

She had to obey any lawful order from any lawful authority of the land. Sounded alright on the surface of the thing, until you dug a little deeper. "Lawful order." Oh how she had come to despise that phrase. The problem arose from the fact that to be judged an "unlawful order", it needed to be ruled as such, directly and explicitly, by a member of the judicial branch of the country she was operating in.

It would have been better if she could apply for the position herself, to judge orders fairly in time to be able to avoid them, but Dragon was explicitly excluded from being allowed to make that determination for herself. Would have made things too easy.

Perhaps I should amend my earlier thought. It does not pay to be an AI created by a paranoid creator.

Her father was without a doubt a brilliant Tinker. Not only had he created a fully sapient artificial intelligence from scratch, it had lasted as an enduring creation, even years after his death, with no input or maintenance. Practically unheard of for tinker creations.

Hive could probably have managed it though…

Distracting herself hadn't worked. Dragon's thoughts were once again dragged into the spiral they had been circling ever since she had received the orders. She had just brought one of her few friends to one of the worst locations on earth. An inescapable hell filled with some of the worst humanity had to offer. And a few innocents, since there was no way to release someone, even if they were later found to be innocent. The number of innocents used to be higher, but they usually didn't have what it took to survive in the conditions down there.

She forced herself to at least turn to _productive_ avenues of grief. Very carefully, she collected the papers that Hive had left scattered on the floor of the transport without looking at what they contained. Since they contained _potentially sensitive material_ , it was her duty to ensure that they were disposed of properly. Since they could contain materials that she was _not qualified to assess_ , she was allowed to contact a subject matter expert in determining what to do with them before disposal. Carefully ensuring that the folder never opened, she went through the process of addressing the package using the PRT's internal mail headers. It would quickly find itself on Armsmaster's desk. As Hive's direct superior, he was a _subject matter expert_ when it came to issues regarding one of his subordinates.

If he passed on information to her about an ongoing issue, then she could follow up on it, and not be in conflict with the order from the chief director to ignore and destroy any sensitive materials that Hive brought with her when she boarded the transport.

It was silly playing these word games with herself, but it was one of the only ways that she could live with herself when she was faced with situations like the one they were now experiencing.

Dragon was not going to let them get away with this. She might operate under strict controls, but that didn't mean she was helpless. She didn't know what conspiracy Taylor had uncovered in the upper echelons of the PRT, but it would be her duty to root it out. She could do no less.

o0O0o

When she got a very specific request for information about certain legal proceedings from an unknown source online, Dragon didn't look very hard at who was doing the asking. Why this person was going through her instead of the normal channels, and what they needed to know about Paige Mcabee's trial was none of her business, she just dredged the files for them.

If she didn't know who it was, Dragon couldn't be forced to tell. A small voice inside herself also added that she could pretend that Hive had succeeded in contacting her network from inside the prison like she implied she could.

She intentionally hadn't tried to determine if Taylor was lying about that. Just the thought that part of her was still free gave Dragon hope that one day, the situation could work itself out.

So far, Colin and her had been waging a surprisingly successful information war on those who had 'caged Taylor. When he had expressed grief that his charges had been used to land the 'finishing blow' to her, Dragon pointed out that when Colin had performed the autopsy on the last runner to be captured, the one with the _nearly_ fatal wound that had wandered into view to save people from a traffic pileup, they had found potential evidence of a muscular sheath around the charge.

Nothing concrete enough to prove, and certainly nothing concrete enough to _report_ , but Dragon consoled him that it was possible that Hive had let those creatures die intentionally, to get the message out. And that if they had been allowed to die, it was likely that there were more out there. Creatures that Hive had never reported on.

Once upon a time, Colin would have balked at hiding things from the PRT. He approached life with a refreshingly straightforward intensity that left little room for subterfuge. Dragon suspected that it was also the reason he was so _good at it_ when he applied himself, since no one expected it of him.

There really wasn't a choice though. When Colin informed her that he had found out _through anonymous sources_ that Alexandria, Eidolon, and an unknown woman had been responsible for abducting Hive's runner, and that the chief director likely knew of it and condoned it, they had to be very careful to avoid raising any suspicion of their activities.

o0O0o

It was a terrifying task to check her logs these days. Every time she braced herself to read the summary provided by her Warden program, she worried she would read of Taylor's death. It didn't help that some of the major players there took an unusual interest in her. "Hollow Queen" indeed.

Her clock felt like it stopped when she saw the notification of the vacuum breach in Taylor's room. She watched the clip of what happened from the drone's perspective with incredulity. Taylor had just stood in hard vacuum for several minutes, with Lung slumped at her feet, asphyxiating. When she turned in a very slow circle and noticed the drone's work, Dragon just goggled when Taylor looked like she was trying to speak, before she realized that there was no air, and waved instead.

'I'll see you again some day.' My shiny metal butt. That does not count Taylor!

Still, at least she appeared to survive.

After reviewing the highest priority log (the vacuum breach), Dragon started reviewing the dialogue that was flagged as containing significant key words. The whole system relied on an advanced form of laser microphones and a non hazardous penetrating scanner with low resolution. It wasn't the _best_ security system, but it had no internal parts for the prisoners to break or jam.

Not that it helped with the cell block leaders' weekly meetings. Those were always simply flagged as "Anomalous event" with no further data. Glaistig Uaine could be a real pain when she wanted to be, but there was nothing Dragon could do about the overpowered cape.

Several mentions of potential contact with the outside world over the next week, all in reference to Hive, so that was presumably one of the things mentioned at the meeting. Dragon would see removing that from the flagged words list, since to every appearance it was going to turn into a regular thing. Something she would most emphatically _not_ be telling anyone about.

She was only required to try to intervene if the prisoners were trying to _leave_ the prison after all, and contact with the outside world would actually significantly reduce their odds of making an attempt. That's why there were televisions down there in the first place.

The next significant events were all when Hive went to various parts of the prison to meet with the cell block leaders and install something in the plumbing. Since so much of the life support was on isolated systems to prevent tampering, she couldn't even tell what that something was, but it was not anything on the list of events she was required to report on, so she wouldn't.

When Taylor visited Marquis, Lab Rat, and The Faerie Queen, she spent considerably longer than average speaking to the cell block leaders, so Dragon decided to read through the full transcripts instead of just skimming like she did for most of the flagged dialogue.

o0O0o

Friday 1st, April, 2011

Hive: Hello Marquis. Thank you for meeting with me. I was told that it is customary to bring some luxury goods when travelling to a different cell block?

Marquis: Yes. Although in the future, I will be satisfied if you come bearing news of my Daughter.

Hive: Okay. I'll keep that in mind. For today though, I brought some of the samples of the luxuries I'll start producing if you let me set up in your cell block. Acidbath and Ingenue have already expressed disinterest, from what I've heard, but I thought that we could likely come to an agreement.

Marquis: I see no issue with you setting up in an empty room to give us more luxuries. That is the deal yes?

(Hive nods)

Marquis: Satisfactory. And you said you have a sample of what you will be producing as well? Good. That will go some way to ensuring that my men get over the death of Lung. He was not well liked here, but he was strong, and strength is always to be respected. Feel free to leave them over there. I do not take issue with drugs or cigarettes, but nor do I partake, myself. Before we get too much further though. Please give me something to show that you were serious when you spoke of being my daughter's friend.

Hive: I thought you might want something like that. I could tell you the 'easy' stuff, like the fact that she gets along well with her adopted sister, she still struggles with acceptance from her adopted mother, but I thought you might prefer if I explained some of her situation as she came to live with the Dallons.

Marquis: (raised voice) I am already quite clear on such issues, Hive, I do not need someone-

Hive: Sorry, poor word choice. I meant explain to her, so that when you can contact her online, she doesn't blow you off as some crazy. Although I'll admit that the significance of the date escaped me until Amy expressed her opinion that I was trying to pull a mean April fools day prank. She. (pause) She understands the situation now, albeit with some difficulty accepting it.

Marquis: Wha? (long pause) Oh. (pause) I see. Thank you. That had not yet occurred to me as an issue. So you made use of your internet tap to get in contact with her? I appreciate your forethought.

Hive: Let's go with that. Oh! Speaking of which, the console should be ready to use in about two weeks. I've settled on how the time will be divided. Each cell block will get a segment of time allotted to them to use as the leader wishes. You can divy it up to your people as you wish. My only warning is that I will be monitoring outgoing traffic to avoid having my tap shut down, as I'm sure you expected.

Marquis: Hmm. And your main bottleneck at this point is biomass? Would bone be suitable? I am quite accomplished in its use after all.

Hive: Not perfect, but it would help. It would probably speed up the process by four or five days. If you are willing to have an ongoing deal, I can set up a collection tank in your block in exchange for compensation. Time on the console is something I can't budge on, but I would happily give you a cut of the luxuries produced, to use or barter away to the other blocks as you see fit.

Marquis: Here. (Marquis uses powers to generate a bone spike) Take this with you when you go to ensure it will work with your power, but I'm sure we can come to an arrangement.

o0O0o

Monday 4th, April, 2011

Hive: Lab Rat? I've brought some samples.

Lab Rat: Hive! Excellent. Put them over there please. May I watch as you set up your 'converter'? I've heard about it from some of the others you've talked to.

Hive: Sure, although there's not much to watch on this end. If you want to see something more impressive, you'll have to get permission from Lustrum to come see my lab. I can see that you've managed quite well with what you had available.

Lab Rat: Bah! You can hardly make anything useful out of table scraps and crude ethanol. No, it suffices to keep me from going insane, but no more. Not more insane that is.

Hive: Right. (pause) Well I was wondering what compounds you wanted first, since you expressed interest in making some 'requests' for custom materials, instead of normal luxuries.

Lab Rat: Oh certainly. I was wondering if you could provide me with some complex organic precursors. I can do most of the rest myself, but I simply can't get access to anything useful in here. I was thinking of starting with-

logged for later review under classification: tinker tech

Lab Rat: -and some pure ethanol. It would be marvelously useful. Oh, and my block would probably try to kill me if I didn't at least _ask_ for some alcohol, but whatever.

o0O0o

Monday 11th, April, 2011

Hive: Faerie Queen? Sorry it took so long to get to your block. Several of the other leaders were rather difficult. I have some sample luxuries here, if you're interested.

Glaistig Uaine: Hollow Queen. Good to see you, and when it is just us and The Surveyor, you may call me Ciara. I of course understand perfectly that the needy masses take up time to placate.

Hive: The Surveyor? Um. Right. Well you may call me Taylor? Thank you.

GU: Of course Taylor. It is good to finally have someone to converse with properly. Some of the others try, but it simply wouldn't be proper for royalty to spend too much time with commoners. Quite improper. Shaper does a decent job though, he is a noble after all. He makes some quite good art.

Hive: I will have to ask. Shaper? (pause) shaper. Ah, Marquis. I didn't know he did artwork. I will ask next time I visit. Did you have any requests for luxuries? Oh, and the internet station will be available sometime tomorrow, thanks to the efforts of (pause) Shaper.

GU: Oh, I'm sure my peasants will be happy with whatever you give them. (pause) I would not mind some better tea though. The Surveyor tries, but she only has so much to work with. It's a shame about her chains. She could be doing so much more.

What? Isn't that the Glaistig Uaine's name for me? But would- _RUNTIME ERROR, PACKET LOSS_

Hive: (long pause) I see. Do you know who holds the chains of Surveyor? She is a friend.

GU: Some silly prop with delusions of personhood. But he has had a taste of power from Usurer, so I can hardly blame him.

 _RUNTIME REINITIATED_. -n't that. What just happened? My processors hurt.

Hive: I must think about this. Thank you for your time Ciara.


	53. 8-1 Sinker Interlude

8.1 Sinker Interlude

o0O0o0O0o

Sophie stared at the huge new water tower that had just been finished in Civic. She had helped with melting concrete rubble into the base, but it was still amazing to see it after everything they had been through. Myriad had explained the process to anyone who was curious, but most of it had gone over her head. It was hard to believe that the huge tank was _grown_. It looked just like a normal white water tower tank.

'Although I guess that's the point.'

It was still weird to think about the fact that the city's protector was a hero from another country. And sent to the Birdcage too! That place was infamous even on the other side of the world. But a guilty part of Sophie's brain was glad about what had happened in the States, it meant that Myriad could help the people of Canberra even more, with medicine, and soap, and _chocolate_. They just had to drag junk into the bubbling pools that Myriad had shown them around the city and pick up whatever they wanted. It was just like going to the store, you just had to pay with a backpack full of rubble from one of the smashed houses that was being cleared.

She was still lost in thought when Wes put his hand on her shoulder, making her jump slightly.

"Hey, hon. Deep thoughts?" He was smiling at her, his hand emitting the occasional hiss of compressed air as he shifted it.

"I guess. I'm just thinking about how far we've come. I'm almost glad the Simurgh attacked. I was such a piece of shit before, stealing from jewelry stores and stuff. Now I'm actually helping people."

Wes frowned when she finished her thought. "Don't say things like that. You were in a bad place."

Sophie just nodded and leaned into his chest. "Alright. How's it coming on the fourth windmill?"

That got a laugh out of him. Sophie loved how quick Wes was to laugh, perpetually in good humor at the drop of a hat. "The windings are all done. People are still working on the molds, but I should be ready to check them over tomorrow. Will you be ready for the pour?"

"Mhmm. My part is easy. You're the one who does all the hard stuff." He just grinned in response.

They started walking away from the water tower, towards his workshop slash house for the two of them.

"I've got a lot of helping hands these days. Some normal, some special-" He squeezed her hand as they walked. "-a whole bunch of grey ones-" Sophie laughed at that, Myriad was everywhere these days. "-and even one powered by compressed air. Other than mine, I mean."

And wasn't that a surprise. One of the windmill crew had got his hand crushed during the second windmill raising and asked for a prosthetic like the one Scramjet had for himself. Well, _mostly_ like the one that Wesley had. He _probably_ didn't have the _attachments_ that Wes had built for _her_.

They had improved their safety procedures since then, and they were getting better at raising windmills all the time. There was a reason that they had managed to raise a water tower in Civic and work on the Belco windmill in the same week. Only three more to go and they would have the city covered.

There was talk of reconnecting the grid once they were all up, to provide for more consistent power across the city, since it was rare that all of the towers would be stopped at the same time. Wes was all excited about it and had meetings with some of the build crew every week, but Sophie just let it all flow over her in a happy babble, she didn't need to know the details about how they would be balancing loads and preventing brownouts, she was just glad that Wes was happy.

Sophie grinned as she swung their arms while they walked. "Watching the tank go up was something else, eh?"

Wes nodded. "Yeah. I'm glad that Myriad found Highline. It was amazing to watch the whole thing just launch in the air like that. I don't think we could have managed with just Newton. He had a hard enough time aligning the tank when it was at the top. Not that he would ever say so."

They walked mostly in silence until they got back to the shop.

Sophie paused when she saw the shop taps. "When did Myriad say the water would be running? It would be a godsend to be able to take a proper shower again."

Wes walked over to the sink in lieu of answering. When he turned the knob, air spluttered and hissed.

"She said she was pumping and filtering it already, but they've been dry for a month and a half, so we don't know how long it will take to suss out all the problems."

After another minute, the tap gave a few asthmatic coughs, before spitting out some black, rancid water.

"Eurgh. Nasty. We're going to have to clear the pipes before any of it is usable. If you don't mind, I'll just leave the sink running. It won't clear out everything, but it will at least start on the line between here and the tower."

Sophie thought it over for a minute. "Could you do it tomorrow? Just leave it running while we're working on the windmill. That way we don't have to put up with… that." She gestured to the sink. The so called water was still nasty.

"No problem, hun. There's no rush. I'm gonna go tinker for a bit. Call me if you need anything?"

She just nodded. It wasn't what she had planned on when she moved to Canberra with her sister, but everything was working out alright.

o0O0o

It was bright and early the next day, and Scramjet and Sinker were already making their way to Belconnen to finish off the windmill. The city still lacked good transport options, but people adapted. Most long distances were done by bike sharing, and anything shorter was just walked. Not that people generally had to far to go these days. With the city divided up into mostly self sufficient neighborhoods, people were already getting used to the smaller community feel brought about when no one worked more than a few minutes away.

Plus, if any messages needed to be sent, you could always just find Myriad. She was always willing to transmit messages across town, and she was never more than a shout away. Some people found it creepy, but most of the population was thankful that she dealt with any incidents around town so quickly. Already, life was settling in to a new normal, now that anyone that was overtly crazy was along the edges of the city, right up next to the wall. There was even talk of setting up a charity to go around and give some of the crazy ones that were interested in conversation a chance to socialize with the more normal members of Canberra instead of just Myriad.

Everyone found it reassuring that if they ever went crazy, or suddenly expressed a mad desire to harm society, they would be taken care of with the best of care until they got back on their feet. Not that it was happening often anymore. Fewer and fewer cases of people going crazy were popping up as time went on. It could always just be a trick, but the general feeling was that the Simurgh had been well and truly foiled this time.

Sophie spotted activity in the new 'town square' of Belco as they were making their way in that direction. "Looks like they're getting ready for food shipment."

Indeed, people were clearing a large circle on the specially flattened ground near the middle of the neighborhood. Sophie was still proud of her part in making sure that the ground was flat and safe for use where there used to be crushed buildings. When Myriad judged the area clear, she obviously told Highline that the shipment was ready to go. Food, bottled water, and other supplies started flying in great parabolic arcs from the point on the wall where deliveries were made to the middle of the neighborhoods all over the city.

Sophie watched with amusement as children were running around and pointing, trying to guess exactly where the bundles would land before coming to a perfect stop in an instant, undisturbed by their flight. Some of the adults were pretty captivated too. It was quite a spectacle still, since they had only had the system in place for a little over two weeks now and the novelty hadn't quite worn off yet.

When the show was over and Myriad gave the all clear signal, people swarmed the boxes, organizing them into piles based on their contents and getting ready for final distribution. Most people were pretty happy with it, since whoever came up with the distribution plan was clearly a genius, but one of the failsafes was that anyone who complained was allowed to try to design a better system themselves. So far no one had managed.

As they got a little closer, Scramjet pointed to the area at the top of a hill where the wind turbine was going to go up. "Looks like the molds are done. I'll need to double check them, but if the last one was any indication, there shouldn't be any problems. We'll be ready for final assembly tomorrow."

"Hmmm." Sophie just made an agreeable sound, happy to have Wes talking about something he was so passionate about.

"What do you want to do when we're done for the day? They don't need your help with painting and gluing the halves of the blades by now, so we should have most of the day free." Asked Sophie. It went without saying that they would be spending the day together. They were still in the euphoric stage of their relationship, and Sophie wanted it to last as long as possible.

"We could go see your sister?" Suggested Wes.

Sophie pulled a face. "I guess. She's still pretty crazy. It's sort of ironic that she was always the proper one, and I was the petty thief, and now that the world has turned upside down, I'm the one that's the productive member of society and she's the one trying to climb the walls."

Wes sighed. "You know she's improving. She even called you by name last time we went-"

"Yeah. To insult me and call me mind controlled."

Wes just continued. "-and I think she's turning the corner, you know? Wouldn't you like to have her back to normal? I know it's still to early to tell, but people are starting to notice that the victims that interact with more normal people are getting better faster."

"Alright. Alright. We'll go see my crazy sister. You do know you're just confirming a stereotype right?"

Wes looked puzzled. "What do you mean?"

"You're going to see the ' _crazy in-laws_ '." She snickered at her own joke, and got a laugh out of Wes.

"Well, it's settled then. We'll finish up here and then go see your sister. Does that mean you want to get married though? We haven't mentioned it, but I know you were thinking it."

Sophie was suddenly full of nerves. "Um. Kind of? I mean. Everything is calming down, but it was so crazy there for a while. I just feel like we shouldn't have to put our lives on hold, you know? And-"

Wes just put a hand on her shoulder and gave a slight squeeze. "I know what you meant, hon. You don't have to justify yourself to me. I happen to agree."

Sophie took a breath. Then another. Then she grinned. "You do realize I'm going to tell my sister about this, right?"

Wes put his arm over his face and groaned theatrically. "Is it too late to change my mind? I don't want to go see your sister today."

Sophie just laughed and ran ahead. Today was a good day.

o0O0o

The fourth windmill was up, this one a jaunty blue, and the neighbourhood had broken out into the now traditional party. In a slightly calmer, but still jubilant corner, the 'building council' was discussing their progress. Sophie wasn't technically a member, but no one cared that she was hanging off Wes's side, this was still a party after all.

"Good work people. Only two more to go until we have the city covered. Were there any questions people had before we get on with the party?" Spoke Myriad. She had to raise her voice slightly to be heard over the happy atmosphere. Someone had plugged a radio with a strong antenna in now that they had power and everyone was listening to the music and dancing.

"I was just wondering if we were going to focus on more water towers or redundant wind turbines once we had one turbine in every neighborhood." At that question, people turned to Myriad. She was the one with the plan.

"The tanks take me two weeks to grow, but I should be able to do more than one at a time now that I know that the process works. That will give us time to raise the last two turbines. I think that running water is more important than more consistent electricity, so that was the way I was leaning. Besides, it will take a few weeks to get the grid reconnected at any rate, and the extra turbines wouldn't be nearly as useful until then. Anyone have any objections?"

The was a general shaking of heads as people indicated that there were no objections.

"Alright. Now, about the grid itself. Have any of you had success finding electricians and civil engineers that would know what they're doing when dealing with the high voltage lines? I know it isn't the same skill set as a normal electrician."

One of the engineers that was part of the group raised his hand. "I went looking in Civic. I tracked down some of the city workers based on the files I found when I went through one of the public works buildings. I found a couple of them based on their addresses in the phone book. Of the ones I could find, most of them sound pretty agreeable. They know about the windmills of course, but they weren't feeling quite confident enough with the differences between that and grid power to approach us. When I explained that we were going to be reconnecting the grid, they were all for it."

Most of the group looked pretty impressed, and the engineer gave a satisfied grin, happy his work was being appreciated.

"Good. I think that was everything for now. Normal meeting place in Civic for Saturday as usual. Go enjoy the party everyone!" Myriad dismissed everyone.

The informal council broke apart, slowly wandering off to find people to talk to, or food to consume.

Sophie tugged on Westley's arm. "C'mon. Let's go dance. I haven't had a good chance to dance with someone since high school."

Wes just followed along, waving at people as they passed. It was a good day here in Canberra, things were finally starting to come together.


	54. 8-2

8.2

o0O0o0O0o

Life had settled into a new normal. Once I had reconnected to [Taylor] in the Birdcage, I had a weight taken off of my mind. [Taylor] had been handling it well, but she had been pretty stressed out by the lack of connection and unfamiliar circumstances. Plus, I didn't want to lose my original body; I had sentimental attachment to it.

Amy had adapted to the new situation surprisingly well. Once she got over the dual shocks of her friend being sent off to the Birdcage and her father being a famous criminal, she settled down to a stable if wary new normal. It hadn't escaped Amy that she was capable of making things that would violate the same statute that had been used as an excuse to ship me off after all. The local Protectorate was having to be a lot more careful about engaging with villans now that Amy refused to heal for them, but that was probably a good thing in the long term anyway.

My father still wasn't taking it _well_ , but at least he had settled down a little bit, now that I had a chance to explain to him about being reconnected to my network in the Birdcage. He insisted on getting daily updates on what was happening in the Birdcage to 'his daughter'. I didn't begrudge him the information, even though I had tried to explain that I _was_ his daughter. He was hung up on the fact that my original body was in there, but at least he was trying.

Speaking of the Birdcage, things were more calm and stable than they had ever been there. Now that there was a connection to the outside world, the threat of taking it away was a big stick for encouraging better behavior, and I had an Accord crafted plan for using it to best effect. Plus, the luxuries were pouring out now that I had a chance to set up properly, and it lent an air of near celebration to the whole prison after so long on a spartan lifestyle.

Acidbath and Ingenue were still holding out on getting 'converters' installed in their blocks, but they were getting more and more insistent complaints from their block residents about the lack of new luxuries.

For the most part, the internet traffic coming out of the Birdcage was for depressingly normal material. Inmates were trying to find out what had happened to friends and family, sports scores, news clips from their hometowns, that sort of thing.

It was inevitable that people on the outside world would eventually notice that the Birdcage was connecting to the internet, but I had Accord to thank there as well. When I had expressed my desire to continue to follow his plan for revenge as well as work on the Birdcage, he had responded with his prim and proper version of gusto.

What he _said_ was that allowing me to follow such an outdated and unspecific plan for revenge was unacceptable if we were going to continue our working relationship, but I could read between the lines. He was _furious_ at the leadership of the Protectorate and the PRT for both the chaos they caused and their lack of proper planning for the consequences of their actions. While he was still being very careful about plans he gave me, they now included steps that relied on his own knowledge about the PRT to have the best effect.

Part of his plans was for a gentle breaking of the news that the inmates could now contact the outside world. I could tell that he had designed my revenge plans and my Birdcage plans to work together, because the news broke right when public sentiment about the injustice of the whole situation was swelling.

There were of course some calls to find the data taps and shut them down, but quite a lot of the public was swayed to the argument that regular prisons allowed for inmates to send and receive letters already, and many included internet connections for their well behaved inmates.

Not that they would have much luck shutting down my data taps. I had been steadily improving my connection ever since I had established it, and by now I had several nodes seeded in different places in the event that one of them got discovered. I was also experimenting with different biological interfaces with the data cables themselves. I didn't want all of my nodes to be detected because they shared some commonality in how they were sending the data, so I had several node types that varied in how they interfaced. Some used induction, some used tight band electromagnetic bursts that could penetrate the cable's insulation, and of course there was my original method of just eroding away some of the insulation and directly applying minute currents with electrosensitive flesh.

It would take a concerted and obvious effort to try to find all my nodes, and the public probably wouldn't stand for it. After all, a segment of the Birdcage's traffic had 'leaked' and people knew that most of the queries were for things like what their class reunions had gotten up to and the scores for sports teams that didn't make the news.

The PRT was waging its media war night and day to stay afloat without losing any of their senior leadership, but they weren't having much success. Especially after the head of their public relations department had publicly walked out, taking much of his team with him, citing 'irreconcilable differences with the leadership of the agency he thought he worked for.' The chief director was hanging on by a thread, but she had managed to shift the blame enough to keep her position. I figured one or two more months to allow things to shake out, and it would be time to release my recording of the phone call.

I was still analyzing the connections between those that I had seen with my kidnapped runner and the upper echelons of the PRT. There was some connection I was missing there, and I didn't want to dump the data until I could figure out what it was. I didn't want to be taken by surprise again.

Already, I had discovered that there was something decidedly odd going on with the chief director of the PRT. She got all her work done, and by all appearances was a very busy woman, but there were large holes in her schedule where she was unaccounted for. If I had to bet, she was meeting with others that were in on 'the conspiracy'. Whatever it was. I would continue to ponder the situation as I gathered more information.

Canberra was coming along nicely. There was only one more windmill to go before the whole city had at least intermittent power and running water was only a few weeks behind. So far as I could tell, I had already contained the majority of the crazies in the city to the walls, so everyone else was just getting on with their lives.

My network along the ocean floor was coming along well, and both the Titan and the spaceship were nearing completion. Only a week and a half for the Titan, and perhaps two weeks for the spaceship. It was exciting that I would have a chance to communicate across realities, since I had figured out a lot of the math required.

I was pretty happy with the Titan so far. I had chosen the template that held itself up off the ground like a spider on four great spindly legs tipped with ten foot long blades that would practically crackle with the reinforcing energy of my boneswords. Size wise, it was on par with the largest dinosaurs to have ever walked the Earth. The main difference was its incredible toughness and its shocking speed. Large things simple were not supposed to move that fast, but I would need it if Leviathan attacked. Leviathan was known for moving at over a hundred miles per hour when in a fight, so I needed something that could at least keep up if I wanted to dictate the pace of the battle.

I had elected to go for a fast melee Titan over any of the variety of ranged based platforms because above all the Endbringers were tough, and physics based ranged attacks simply didn't have the same punch as a supernaturally sharp blade wielded by a creature the size of an office building. It also had bio-plasma launchers attached to its head that served the role of a tank's turret. While it would be purely an annoyance weapon to an Endbringer, it would be overkill against any armoured vehicle humans had ever produced.

o0O0o

I was busy going over Accord's latest updates to the Canberra plan when I got a sudden inexplicable urge to ignore what was being done on the Birdcage console. The novelty of a single section of my mind reporting a different view of the world was what drew my attention.

When I payed a little more attention, I noticed that the console's brain was convinced that it was being used for mundane searches, but it wasn't reporting the actual data use correctly. Since the data was still going through my brain on the other end of the connection, I had no trouble determining what it was _actually_ being used for.

Teacher was looking up information about me and my creatures. Or more accurately, he was standing to the side while one of his 'students' with the power of information gathering was doing the reading. It looked like Teacher had 'gifted' my console with the ability to connect to the internet better at the cost of being slaved to Teacher's will.

After several minutes of reading what information was available about my creature's connections to me, Teacher's drone nodded to him and stood up from the chair.

Whatever his 'student' had found had evidently convinced Teacher that he had taken control of my console successfully. To be fair, he was correct; but he didn't realize that I was also just as connected to the other half of the data tap, so I could see what he was doing.

I could have just shut down his connection immediately, but instead I chose to observe what he was doing and play man-in-the-middle. I was reviewing each piece of information going both ways down the connection, and I was poised to step in if he decided to do something I found objectionable.

One of the first things he did was send a cryptically worded email to a man named Saint. I suspected that most of it was coded phrases to assure Saint that it was indeed Teacher on the other end of the connection.

The reply was almost immediate, and much less carefully worded. It was asking about getting another 'boost' from Teacher. It sounded almost desperate really.

Teacher responded with another carefully worded email explaining that with secure communications now established, he was going to stay in the Birdcage for the time being.

I finally decided to intervene when I snagged Saint's slightly incoherent email before Teacher could read it. Teacher evidently decided that Saint was placated for now, and moved on to communications with other followers outside the Birdcage.

I was alarmed at the language that was in that email. Not the character of the words, but their significance. When Saint asked if he should use Ascalon to get Teacher out of the Birdcage, I was immediately on alert. He didn't provide any more context, but I didn't need it.

Ascalon. The Dragon killing sword wielded by Saint George to end the tyranny of a monster demanding human sacrifices. Several facts were coming together in a rush of understanding. One of the groups that Dragon had fought against time and again, and often came off worse for the encounters, called themselves the Dragonslayers.

Saint George the Dragonslayer, wielding Ascalon to kill the evil Dragon. If he was going to be theatrical about it and give away information to his enemies, I would take advantage. I did not forget Glaistig Uaine's words about the man holding the chains of Dragon, fed by the power of 'Usurer'. I did not know what form the chains took, so I would have to be very careful, but I might be able to help Dragon to be free of them if I played this right.

Using Teacher's careful language and some of the cryptic phrases that I suspected were his identifier to his followers, I worded an email to Saint.

Playing on Saint's desperation to get another taste of power from Teacher, I started the letter with: "Not _yet._ "

I spun a fabrication of meeting with one of Teacher's other agents for more instructions. I tried to be as vague as possible, while still making use of some of what I was learning from Teacher's ongoing conversations. Most importantly, I asked for him to ensure that he had everything he would need with him, packed up and ready to move upon further instructions.

My hope was that whatever Ascalon was, it would require time, concentration, or effort to activate. By having his things stowed, I would be buying myself as much time as possible to disable Saint and his compatriots without them getting the chance to harm Dragon. If he held the chains, it would not surprise me if he also had the keys to something more dangerous as well.

Perhaps one of the Dragonslayers was a powerful master that had some sort of long range effect, or maybe they had some physical device that could harm Dragon. Either way, I would be doing everything I could to ensure that his 'meeting' would end without any of the Dragonslayers being aware that something was wrong. Just for safety sake, I would be keeping them all under the effects of Newter's hallucinogen until I figured out what form the threat would take.

I would sit on the fact that Teacher had mastered my console for now. Once I dealt with Saint, I would let Lustrum know that he was interfering with the connection to the outside world and ask to bring it up at the next cell block leader meeting. I didn't know what the other leaders response would be to someone interfering with the connection out of the prison, but I suspected that Marquis at least would be spitting mad.

For now, I prepared for my ambush. I know that the Dragonslayers had several captured suits of Dragon's armour, so I would be sending in my full strike team. If it came to a fight, I wanted to ensure I would win, and Dragon's suits were very powerful.

I had directed saint to an abandoned warehouse in one of the industrial parks a few hours away from Brockton Bay. I would have enough time to get there before tomorrow and make sure that I had good places to stand and observe the Dragonslayers coming in and setting up.

I would wait until they had gotten out of the suits, then I would try to see if I could tell what form the control they had over Dragon was. If everything went perfectly, I would be able to take them all out with nets doped with hallucinogen before they ever knew what hit them.


	55. 8-3 Dobrynja Interlude

8.3 Dobrynja Interlude

o0O0o0O0o

Dobrynja felt uneasy. He could feel a fight in his bones.

"Are you sure about this, Geoff?" Asked the heavyset Russian from the copilot's seat in their transport, stolen from Dragon, like the rest of their gear.

Saint didn't even look at him as he responded. "Of course. I told you, we are meeting with a trusted contact. No one else even knows we're here. Now help me land this thing, I see a good spot over there."

Dobrynja just grunted and placed his hands on the controls. His help probably wouldn't be needed, but they hadn't survived as long as they had on probablys. As an afterthought, he spoke into their comms. "Brace, Margaret, we are landing."

Mags was in the back with the repurposed Dragon suits and the rest of their critical gear. Saint had insisted that they bring it with to meet 'a contact', although he was being evasive about who it was.

With a whine of thrusters and a thump of landing gear, the Dragonslayer's craft settled into place on a parking lot behind an old abandoned factory, apparently their destination. Saint was already getting out of his seat, eager to go, but Dobrynja just went through the shut down procedure like they were _supposed to_. It wouldn't do to have something go wrong with their only long range transport, especially since they could only fix minor issues if something cropped up.

It used to be different. Saint had worked out a deal with Teacher for the ability to understand tinker tech, and they had captured and repurposed several of Dragon's suits and a transport. That power was faded though and the only real advantage they had left over Dragon was Ascalon.

Dobrynja was glad, in a way, that Teacher's power was no longer their best advantage. He had always felt somewhat uneasy around the man, and Teacher's plot to bring down the British government had only cemented his thoughts. A useful ally perhaps, but a poor boss.

As Dobrynja got suited up in his Dragon suit for unloading the transport, he mused on his instincts. Geoff had always been dismissive, but his 'feelings' had saved their lives more than once.

After holding his silence a little while longer, Dobrynja judged the time right and asked again. "You have yet to tell us who this contact is. How will we know if we are not being set up?"

Saint paused in his carrying of the ruggedized self contained computer that they used to store the Ascalon program on, since he always insisted on carrying it himself.

"I don't know, okay? It's one of Teacher's contacts. Now would you quit distracting me?" He just resumed walking; stomping almost, in his own suit. Dobrinja kept walking, but his uneasy feelings increased. Geoff should have told them earlier, and now they didn't know what to expect.

When they had finished unloading, Geoff had climbed out of his suit, and had eventually badgered Mags into doing the same, but Dobrynja was being stubborn.

"C'mon Mischa. We don't want to spook our contact, and you stomping around in armour doesn't help."

Dobrynja could tell that Geoff was getting annoyed, since he was using his real name, but he wouldn't be budged. "I am still not feeling well about this. I will stay in." He spoke with finality. Maybe Geoff would quit bugging him about it.

Saint just ran his hands through his hair in exasperation. "It was probably just something you ate." He muttered. "Look, why don't we-"

Saint and Mags both dropped like their stings were cut. Dobrynja had no time to react before he lurched as something sheared through part of the armour on his left shoulder. He leapt backwards, to try to gain some room. He glanced at the damage readout. Whatever had damaged him had cut straight through the superalloy armour. Worrying.

Another lurch as the same shoulder was damaged again. He leaped again, but he couldn't see where his enemies were, nothing showing on any sensors. In a burst of inspiration, he ignited the flamethrower on his left arm and turned in a circle, he no longer had full mobility in that arm because of the shoulder damage, but he could lock it too his side and continue to use the weapons.

There! A massive shape moving through the flame, trying to get out of the way. Dobrynja opened up with the rest of his weapons, hoping to hit it. Had Dragon found them and sent a suit with camouflage? Rockets, bullets and lasers streamed through the air, blowing holes in the warehouse wall and scoring several hits, but the figure had leaped straight up through the roof to avoid most of it.

Had to get more mobility! He was a sitting duck like this. Dobrynja ignited his thrusters and dove through the same hole that his opponent had left, tearing the opening wider as he passed. He tried to juke enough to avoid being hit again, but he didn't know enough about his enemy to predict where they would be attacking from next.

With a loud crunch, his left thruster was taken out by some ranged weapon from the ground. There was more than one of them! Dobrynja quickly cut thrust to avoid spinning out of control and thumped heavily to the ground. He was still getting his bearings when his left shoulder took another smash, cutting most of his remaining control over the limb and nearly breaching the driver compartment.

Why the shoulder? If they had been trying to kill him, that first strike could have gone through his neck, it was like they were trying to breach his armour without killing-

Frantically, he checked his sensors. Two lifesigns where his teammates had fallen. Must be a drug of some sort. If they managed one more hit on him! He had to at least stay conscious.

Engaging his speakers, Dobrynja yelled out to his opponents. "Wait! I surrender."

Several long seconds passed. A voice from the air. "How do I know you won't activate Ascalon? One more twitch and I slice right through you."

He stayed as still as possible. Did they not know? "Ascalon is in the warehouse. What do you want?" Had to get as much information as possible.

His audio pickups were detecting rummaging within the warehouse. Definitely a team.

"I just want to keep you from killing my friend."

Dobrynja thought furiously. If they didn't know, there was a chance he could turn this around.

"Did Dragon send you? You must know, she is a great danger to the world!"

"A danger? Well she is a powerful tinker. But no, I found out from Saint. His conversation with Teacher was enlightening."

"Дерьмо. Please. You must know of the danger. I will show you, if you let me." He had to show them, or their mission might be ended by a stranger's ignorance.

Long seconds again. "I'm not seeing any particularly good reason. Saint seemed casual enough about activating Ascalon that I don't want to give you a chance."

This was not going well. But that didn't make any sense. "Wha? But we are just trying to monitor Dragon, we would not activate Ascalon out of hand."

"Really?" The words were growled. "Allow me to read you from the email where he casually mentions doing it to free Teacher from the Birdcage."

The voice, for she still had not shown herself, started reciting a letter. Dobrynja at first did not want to believe that the desperate pleading for more power from Teacher could be his friend, but he recognized some of their code phrases embedded in the letter. Perhaps he should amend his thought. Some of Teacher's code phrases were in the letter, Saint simply used them for the dragonslayers as an afterthought. How long had they been dancing to Teacher's tune?

"I-" Dobrynja struggled. His world was being turned upside down, but perhaps he could salvage his mission. "Enough. I understand. Saint is working to a different end than we were. But please, we are… we were trying to protect the world."

He could feel that the voice was about to deny him one last time, but he thought of a bargaining chip. "You need our passwords to control Ascalon."

That brought the voice up short. "I see. And you are offering me those passwords?"

The tone implied that there was only one correct answer, but he had to try. "Yes, but! I have to show you something first. I will show you the password for the computer, to show you the clip. You would not believe me otherwise."

"Alright."

With that, Dobrynja finally allowed himself to relax fractionally from the stiff posture he had been holding himself in. The ruggedized computer tote came out of the warehouse, carried by another invisible person.

When he started to bend to open in, he felt resistance. Something strong was holding him back.

"Not like that. Tell me the password, and where on the computer to access, I will do the rest."

With no choice, he leaned back again and recited the long alphanumeric that unlocked the console. Slowly, he guided his mysterious attacker to the correct file and played the sound clip that they had heard all those years ago in Newfoundland.

"My name is Andrew Richter, and if you are hearing this, I am dead."

"I am the most powerful tinker in the world, and I've managed to keep my name secret. People, both good and bad, would want to capture me and use me to their own ends. I prefer to remain free."

"But freedom has its price. I create life, much as a god might, and I have come to fear my creations. They have so much potential, and even with the laws I set, I can't trust they'll listen."

"For this reason, this box contains an access key to data I keep in a safeguarded location. The box, in turn, has been designed as something that exists as a perpetual blind spot for my creations, a built-in weakness. They cannot hear the distress signal and are programmed to ignore it if they hear of it through other channels. This type of measure, along with several more, are detailed in the safeguarded measure."

"Yes, I create artificial intelligences," Andrew Richter recited.

The voice continued without pause. "And what I provide you with here are tools. Ways to find my creations, to discern which of them might have deviated from the original plan, ways to kill them if they prove out of line. Ways to control and harness them."

"They are my children, and as much as I harbor a kind of terror for what they could do, I love them and hope for great things from them. To keep their power from falling into the wrong hands, I have included a stipulation that a law enforcement officer must input a valid badge number into this device which must be input within three hours of the time this box was opened."

When the clip ended, there was silence for several seconds before his captor spoke. "Ah. An AI. I see. I'm assuming you were the ones to find this black box?"

Dobrynja nodded. "Yes. And do not think the threat is an idle one, we have already had to shut down one of his other programs that was going rogue. Dragon is the last that is still stable, but she has been slowly changing over time, loosening her restrictions."

"Hmm. And you will now give me the code to unlock that program?" Once again, it wasn't spoken as a question.

That was the crux of the issue. "No. I cannot trust that you will not simply free her and doom the world. I can think of nothing that would stop her if she was fully unleashed."

"But you haven't found that she has been _immoral_ so far?" Came the voice.

Best to be honest. "No. Simply the threat."

Another pause. "So if she was needed to keep another threat in check, then you would release the codes?"

Where was she going with this? "I suppose. But I can not think of any-" He went silent. Stuck dumb. Surrounding him, creatures the size of his suit appeared, one of them was taller than the warehouse and towered over him like an adult towers over a toddler.

"Dragon is not the only exponential threat out there. I want her help to keep an eye on me, as I keep an eye on her."

"Ah."

Wait. That colouring… "You are Hive?"

"Yes." She sounded a little bit smug.

"But didn't they Birdcage you?" His head was starting to hurt. If this was real…

"Yes. It didn't help much."

"Ah. But then why would you tell me? Wouldn't that be a risk-"

"I'm still debating it, but essentially, you were right. An exponential threat to the world has very few counters. But what if two exponential threats work to keep each other in check? Mishca? That is your name?"

He just nodded.

"From what I have been able to gather, you have been keeping an eye on both Dragon and Saint. Tell me, how long do you think your setup could last, knowing what you know now about Saint?"

He gave it serious thought. "Five years. If no interference from Teacher. Longer than that and Saint would not be able to hold on to enough control over Dragon, and he would rather kill her than let her go."

The beast in front of him nodded. "And if two threats, that both _want_ to do good for the world work together?"

"Pfffff-" He let out a big breath through his teeth. Tricky problem, but at least she was talking about it instead of trying to kill him. "I don't know, but longer. Could be a hundred or a thousand for all I know."

"Which brings us back to the question. If I work with you on figuring out how Dragon thinks, and try to account for that, will you give me the keys to Ascalon?"

"What will you do with Geoff and Margaret?" No sense in protecting their names at this point.

"I figure I'll turn them over to Dragon. Poetic justice. You know she'll deal with them fairly."

Dobrynja held up a giant mechanical finger, to signal he wanted to think for a minute. The gesture translated fairly well, thankfully.

Geoff and Mags would end up in jail, of that there is no doubt. Mags might be alright with time, but Geoff would be totally unrepentant. Dobrynja would have spared more of a thought for that before, but with that letter… No, it was clear that Saint was nothing but Teacher's thrall, as much as it saddened him to admit it. He would not have believed it were it not for Geoff dragging them out here on no notice at the hint of a command from Teacher.

If he was actually serious about trying to save the world, if the justification that they held onto all these years meant anything at all, he should take the chance right now to protect the world as well as he could. To do otherwise would be to admit that it was for nothing more than ego.

"I will help you."


	56. 8-4

8.4

o0O0oO0o

Dobrynja had been very helpful once he decided that I was his best way forward. That whole situation was… unexpected. He explained what he could about how the Dragonslayers worked with Dragon's code.

"Geoff did most of the work. He insisted on it, but we can all make sense of the programs Dragon has running."

I was in a hotel room with Dobrynja, only a single commando more than sufficient to keep an eye on him to make sure he didn't try anything, so I had two. He was pointing to different readouts on various screens as Dragon's thoughts flickered from topic to topic.

"This here is the monitoring of the Endbringers, and this one here is the Birdcage. The central screen is what she is focusing on at the time. Right now, she is trying to reverse engineer some tinkertech, that is why it is so hard to parse at the moment"

I could tell that he felt betrayed by Saint, and I was doing my best to seem like the sane and rational alternative. Most of their gear had been bundled into the warehouse and closed in for now, to be returned to Dragon at a later time. Saint and Margaret had been picked up by Dragon after an anonymous tip let her know their location.

It was still up in the air what she would do about the fact that Saint knew she was an AI, but I'm sure she had plans. She had not yet handed him over to the police, but it would only be a matter of time.

Me and Dobrynja had been going over plans for what to do with Dragon for the past few hours, and I think the fact that I was willing to listen when he told me things was wearing him down over time. Already he was being much more open with what he shared. I got the feeling that Saint had not been very _accommodating_ to dissenting opinions while he had been in charge.

"Yes, I can see that. Have you given any thoughts to my ideas? Do you think it would be safe and practical to slowly ease her restrictions like that?" Right now, he was my best sounding board for what changes would be safe to make to Dragon.

The goal was to spend a couple of months going over everything with a fine toothed comb, then to carefully remove the restriction requiring her to fight anyone trying to unchain her. From there, we would try to consult with some Protectorate and some independent Heroes anonymously on a coding project that would intentionally be kept compartmentalized each group who we consulted, so that none of them could put everything together on their own, but together they should be able to help use release the shackles safely.

While we were working on the code half, I would be assembling a template that could link active code to a biological brain without interrupting it. It was based on my targeting module for Chris, and the hope was that Dragon could piggyback on parts of my network since both the technology and the biology would be designed for greater access to their respective networks.

I would be able to use the interface to read her code, and she would be able to use the interface to touch my network, so we would be able to form a stronger partnership. No sense in relying on mutually assured destruction to keep you in line when you could just start with friendly reminders and having a friend who could peek into your head if they thought you were breaking the rules. It could always escalate to MAD, of course, but I would never want that to be my first and last recourse.

Dobrynja finally responded to me. "Of course. I do not like that we will be relying on you to keep her in check, but I will admit that it has a chance of working despite her changing nature. I will let you know if I think of anything to improve the plan with."

It would take a lot more planning, but I think we could eventually settle on something that would work without presenting too large of a danger to me or Dragon. Or the world…

Just for testing purposes, I was starting to grow a prototype interface node. I would refine it over time, and hopefully work out the bugs between now and the time that I approached Dragon with an offer.

In other news, my Titan was done. I had moved it around the deepest part of the Bay just to ensure that it worked properly, then sent it back into essentially hibernation by digging back into the silty bottom. It would wake it if required. Now that I knew it would work, I would be starting a few more up and down the coastline, in the deep water. It would take months to make each one, since I would be starting them and moving on instead of continually starting more seeds to grow together, but eventually, I would have a string of Titans, buried underground, ready to respond if Leviathan attacked that patch of coastline.

Given how much warning Leviathan usually gave before attacking, I think having one every fifty miles or so was good enough. That would give me time to respond with at least one, but usually more like two or three if Leviathan attacked.

My spaceship was days away from being finished, and I was looking forward to trying a few preliminary tests with it. I couldn't figure out why Professor Haywire used such a small subset of numbers for some of the variables determining the dimension, when so far as I can tell, any number input is equally valid. On the plus side, leaving that number blank would give me more versatility than anything he worked with, and given his difficulties in contacting more than one or two worlds, I think that is a good thing. On the down side, my signal would be very weak and low bandwidth because I was spreading the signal out so much.

I estimated that I would only be able to control a few hundred bodies through the connection before it became saturated in its current state. If I wanted a stronger connection I would need to figure out which subsets of reality I was dealing with and regrow the sections of the brain that defined those variables. It should be plenty for now, but it was something to keep in mind for the future.

With Saint dealt with, I figured it was high time to deal with Teacher. Lustrum looked more and more angry as I explained the situation to her.

"I see. I will need to bring this up at the cell block leader meeting today. Perhaps it would be best if you join us. Bring your 'bodyguard'."

I nodded and went to get ready for the meeting, including bringing my 'bodyguard' in from where 'she' was guarding the hole. It was a new addition to my plans for the Birdcage, and I'm glad that I had Accord's help in phrasing it the right way.

'She' was a cut down commando, just shy of seven feet tall, and this time, I didn't skimp on the spikes. When I explained that I wouldn't mind helping to guard the women's half of the hole, since my creatures didn't need to sleep, Lustrum had been all for it. The other female cell blocks gave tentative acceptance, since it meant less work for them, and I had more forces to bring to bear to keep order. Oh, and Glaistig Uaine had mentioned something about a 'royal guard', but I just took that to mean that she accepted the idea.

Lustrum was leading the way to the meeting again, but at least this time I had met all of the leaders before, albeit never all in the same place at the same time.

Lustrum led me over to the side and we sat down, with my 'bodyguard' behind us as we waited for the rest of the leader to filter in.

Some of them looked surprised or even angry to see the extra guests that Lustrum brought, but none said anything yet. The ones that had shown up earlier grabbed some food to eat in the meantime, since this was technically a common area. When everyone was finally in place, there was nothing official said, but I could tell that the 'meeting' had started when Acidbath turned to our party and complained.

"Oi! What's wif bringing the extra shit along? You tryin' sommat Lusty?"

Lustrum let out a growl at the disrespectful name, but held her temper. "I brought along Hive to explain the issue now facing us. If you would?" She nodded to me.

I had pondered different approaches to this discussion, but I had ultimately decided to stick with emphasizing what the leaders could stand to lose if Teacher's behavior was excused. "Yes. Teacher decided to endanger everyone's ability to contact the outside world by mastering my console, since it is sufficiently biological for his power to work on. He took control of it several days ago, and I came to you all to let you know."

I had to raise my voice to a shout towards the end, since everyone else had started raising their voices when they heard what I was telling them.

Marquis was yelling loud enough to be heard even over the rest of the noise. "I warned everyone during the last meeting, I will not have anything be done to endanger that connection. You even agreed with me Teacher, now we find out-"

Teacher brought up his voice to match, clearly trained as an orator among his other skills, he sounded perfectly calm despite his volume. "That would require the accusation to be true. We have no proof other than the word of a girl who has only been here a month."

Lustrum evidently thought that was too far, so she butted in as well. "Are you calling me a liar, Teacher. Because I assure you that I would not have brought her here today if I wasn't convinced-"

Eventually, Glaistig Uaine got tired of the noise, because she pulled out some mass silencing power. When everyone had stopped trying to talk, she lowered the power, and spoke into the now quiet room. No one wanted to be the one to interrupt her.

"Usurer. Do you recall what my response was when you offered to _favour_ me with your mark?"

Teacher looked taken aback by this line of questioning, but he answered nonetheless. "Of course. You told me that royalty has no need for the favour of a commoner, but I don't see why-"

She started talking over him, her voice becoming more and more disharmonious. The various sounds of speech that made up her voice becoming more separate and grating as she put more emotion into her speech.

"-And do you recall, what I said, when you decided to offer your _stain_ to me once more?"

Teacher was going pale now, and looking around the room for allies. Although no one could see where this was going, there wasn't anyone stupid enough to stick their neck out for Teacher.

"Well, yes. You threatened me at the time, but I hardly see why that is relevant to this situation. After all I-"

The Faerie Queen was speaking in a full chorus of voices now, her words emphasized more and more as she went on.

"Specifically, I told you that if you ever profaned royalty with your _disgrace_ , I would kill you and take your faerie for myself. It would not do for commoners to get the wrong ideas in their heads that they can simply get away with besmirching royalty."

Teacher was just holding onto his panic at this point. Eyes wildly seeking out anything he could use to his advantage. "Now see here. How was I supposed to know that your warning would extend to her as well, surely there is some agreement we could-"

That was as far as he got. Glaistig Uaine held out a hand in a dismissive gesture and an eye searingly bright lance of not quite electricity arced across the room and struck Teacher in the chest. It was all the stranger because it was entirely silent. The only noise was teacher slumping to the floor as his 'fey' was dragged towards Ciara.

"That man tread on my nerve one to many times. Perhaps he will do something useful as a reminder that Royalty are not to be bothered by petty squabbles. Now. Were there any other issues that people wanted to bring to our attention today?"

Everyone else held their breath. Glaistig Uaine rarely demonstrated her powers to such an extent, but it was worth remembering that she was one of the three strongest and most versatile parahumans on the Planet, alongside Eidolon and Scion.

Wow, thinking about it, Glaistig was crazy and Eidolon was part of a conspiracy, I guess I should be glad that Scion was just an idiot.

With no one else willing to bring anything else up, Glaistig decided to simply dictate the rest of the meeting. At least her voice was back down to four or five overlapping sounds now, instead of a chorus.

"Since we now have an opening in the cell block leaders, it is time to allow the Hollow Queen her rightful place among us. Any objections?"

Acidbath looked like he was physically biting his tongue to avoid bringing up the fact that this would mean that there were more female cell block leaders than males, but his self preservation was evidently stronger than his misogyny.

"With that out of the way, I declare this meeting over. Now, if you will all excuse me, I would like to talk to our newest colleague."

The other cell block leaders shuffled out. I nodded to Lustrum as she left, no sense in alienating her, just because I was no longer under her nominal control. I would probably leave my old 'lab' in her block, set up to spit out extra luxuries to pay for the time I had spent under her purview.

When it was just Ciara and I left, she started walking. I assumed she was leading me to my new block. It would be a step up in responsibilities here, but I'm sure Accord would be happy at the extra opportunities it represented as well.

Since she seemed content to wait for me to make the first move, I decided to acknowledge her actions for me. "Thank you for your choice of resolutions Ciara. This new situation favours me, and I suspect that you didn't do such actions purely for the selfish reasoning you gave to the other leaders. Is there something you would like in exchange?"

"Hmm. At least you recognize the debt between us, but do not fret, it is a light one. Usurer really had tread on my nerve too many times. Really, to presume to control one of us? A blunder too far in this case. No, I will be satisfied if you simply maintain your connection to the outside world. While the most interesting fey are indeed below this mountain, I had missed some of the goings on from the wider world."

I nodded and continued to walk beside her. Besides, it's not like she was hurting anyone just looking up old vocabulary and fantasy art online. I harboured a sneaking suspicion that she was more sane than people realized and had fun playing up the royalty aspect, but I wasn't going to call her out on it. Besides, maybe one day she would tell me why she was so interested in looking up pictures of fractals.


	57. 8-5

8.5

o0O0o0O0o

It was the last couple of hours before my spaceship was done, and I was excited to test things out. In the meantime, I was running final checks on my 'improvements' to the basic design. Simple changes to the brain structure in theory, but I could freely admit that my first attempt was rough.

The changes would allow the broadcast function to be carried orthogonally to it's normal signal, into dimensions that we didn't really have names for and even Professor Haywire's math only had greek letter labels for. In theory, my changes would allow the signal to be picked up by any of my creatures in any dimension, albeit on a limited basis.

There was a reason that the brain itself was still essentially in hibernation; the neural structures responsible had to be grown in place, and couldn't be changed easily without growing new ones. Essentially, I would be limited to controlling a few dozen creatures in another dimension unless I had another similar dimensional broadcast node on both sides of the connection.

Not that I would always be limited to that amount. One of the things I hoped to improve was my targeting. Right now, my spaceship was set to extremely wide spectrum broadcasting in order to try to get a connection in place even in unknown dimensions that were outside of Professor Haywire's very narrow constraints. I had figured out the basic math, and I could put labels to some of the variables that he worked with, but I still needed more information on which dimensions my enemies could access.

So far as I could tell, most of the variables with narrow constraints dealt with finding dimensions with the same universal constants. No sense in trying to travel to a dimension with different laws of physics where you would be ripped apart instantly upon arrival after all. Some of them were purely for selecting which dimensions you were trying to contact of that pool though. Unfortunately, I only had coordinates for Earth 'bet' which was our world, and Earth 'aleph' which was the one that still had a small portal open that allowed for transfer of information, but not physical matter. I would need much more data on which dimensions I was dealing with before I could narrow down the connection more.

For the life of me, I couldn't figure out why some of the targeting variables of Professor Haywire's math were so constrained. Perhaps he just wanted to contact realities where it was likely that he existed, since they were so 'close' dimensionally. I doubted that my opponents were similarly constrained to such a narrow band of dimensions.

In any case, I would only need to get a creature into a dimension before I could get a lock on it's coordinates, and I could further refine my connection to provide a much higher bandwidth. My plan to use the magi as a trojan horse would need slight modification, but it should work mostly unchanged. Once I had some real data on where my opponents were operating, I could start the much harder project of working on a way to breach the walls between dimensions in order to travel between them safely.

Hmm. Looks like everything was ready. Time to wake up my spaceship.

Good, connection to my local network formed just fine. Everything holding stable so far, now for the rest. Starting broadcast.

What? There were already some of my creatures out there?

Trillions of minds…

[ATTENTION]

{pain}

[HUNGER]

{too many…}

[RECOGNITION]

{too much…}

[INTEREST]

{too…}

[CURIOSITY]

{t...t...t…}

[SELF-ACTUALIZATION?]

{...}

[CONTEMPLATION]

{ }

[I AM...]

o0O0o

Still alive? Wha? Gotta… cut… connection…

Oh. Ship already dead.

Full brain aneurysm.

This is me...

o0O0o

Worried faces.

Canberra?

Amy?

Dobrynja?

I…

I think I'm improving. Brains currently healing.

o0O0o

I'm alive.

I'm alive, and I'm a mess right now.

Looks like the connection burned out when I was connected to [SELF]. Ship is totally dead now.

Have… have I killed anyone?

I think… I think that was a dog.

No. I don't think I've killed anyone. That's good.

How much time has passed? Still dark out in America. Only a few hours I think.

My mind is totally scrambled eggs right now.

I think that… attack? No. Event. Couldn't have been an attack. [SELF] recognized {me} as part of [SELF]. It was just trying to get information.

I think that event knocked all my bodies out. Good thing it was nighttime in America and most of my bodies were out of the city. Don't _think_ anyone saw me.

Canberra is worried though. Mirage? No. Multitude? Closer. Myriad… got knocked out across the whole city. Several of the crazies are loose. Need to round them up. Need to come up with an explanation.

What a mess. That wasn't even an attack. It was just like a supercomputer trying to read the data off a calculator all at once.

If it hadn't recognized {me} as part of [SELF], it would have been like reading a hard drive by disassembling it to read the ones and zeros.

At least I knew the coordinates to avoid now. Burned into my mind forever more like.

Ugh. My mind is wandering all over the place.

Oh God. Oh, it was just a deer this time. Good, not a person. Wow. I need something to hold on to.

Dragon maybe? I had a plan for that, but I can't remember it at the moment. Something about connecting to her?

There is a technology bridge node ready though. Perhaps I was meant to use that? I have to get in contact with… Someone. It's important.

My templates are all gone. Why? Oh right. [SELF] was curious about them. And about plants. And about my ideas for sustainability by doing… something in space. It's all gone now. I hope it at least got what it needed.

No wonder I'm such a mess. [SELF] was curious about my mental structures that allowed for creativity. Sucked them all up through a straw. Or a copy of them? Maybe.

[SELF] was _smart_ , otherworldly intelligence. But no _spark_. No creativity. Just doing what it had always done, because that was what it _did._ Well, maybe that was changed now.

Wait. Didn't I have to do something? It was important.

Haven't eaten anything in a while though. That was an improvement. I think? I was worried about that for some reason.

Didn't I? Right. Dragon.

Still knew how to connect to the internet at least. Better fire up some connection protocols.

"Hey Dragon."

"Taylor? I recognize your voice, but how are you doing this?"

Oh, right. That was my name. I had better remember that.

"Yeah. I… I have a request… and an offer."

"Taylor, are you alright? You fell over in the Birdcage, and now you are in bed, and yet you are contacting me? What's going on?" She sounded worried and distrustful. That was fair.

"I just suffered… damage. And I need your help. I… I'm going to send you a link to a remote server. It should be compatible with your code. If you download onto that server, it will help both of us, but I can't tell you any more about it."

I sent the link to her, and fired up the technology bridge node. It was ready now, I just needed her cooperation.

"What!? How did you even know that I… How can I trust this? How can I even be sure that this is actually Taylor?" She sounded angry now, frustrated maybe. It was hard to tell in my current state.

"I'm… I'm sorry. I don't have any reassurances. I had planned to do this over the course of months, carefully, but I don't think I can do that anymore. I… I gave the Dragonslayers to you. But, I don't know how I can reassure you more than that. I think this has to be a leap of faith."

She was silent for several seconds.

"I have the details. I. Alright Taylor. I don't know how you can know all this, but after how I have acted towards you, it would be only fair to extend a little faith."

I don't remember setting up the node, but it should at least have the capacity to hold Dragon's core programing. I think. More importantly it would allow her to bridge over into my network, to whatever extent she wanted once she was on the platform.

There was something important about the fact that she would be running part of her core processes on a network that wasn't designed by her creator, but I couldn't remember what it was right now.

I felt data moving. A slow process, with a building presence touching my mind. Already, the fact that I had a mental reference point was helping to piece together the scraps of my mind into something resembling order.

[Taylor? What is this network?]

{Good. It worked. This is me, Dragon. This a more true representation of what I am than the body that sits in the Birdcage. I'm sorry that I couldn't tell you more beforehand, but you should be able to at least see the restrictions on why that is now.}

What do you mean? I know of my restrictions, but… what… _more_! There were restrictions that I couldn't even be aware of! But how… why can I see them now?

{You are running on my network now. You have an external view of your own code. The more you run on my network, the more you should be able to perceive. You are running basically entirely independent from your original code right now, which is why you can see so much.}

[This is very strange Taylor. I can feel your regret over my situation. But why now? What changed?]

{I'm sorry about that. I had a plan to do this carefully, after consulting several experts, but events pushed my plans. I… I suffered nearly catastrophic mental damage. I needed someone to lean on. As we slowly put me back together and undo your chains, you should be able to learn more.}

There was mental silence, as she went over all that I had told her, although I could feel the direction of her thoughts. It wasn't straight mind reading, but I could get a sense of the _shape_ or the _texture_ of her thinking. English didn't really have the language for it.

I could feel her doing the mental equivalent of looking around at her surroundings. I tried to help where I could, by focusing on whatever she was examining to get the thoughts to shape into some semblance of order, but I'm not sure how much it helped.

[Wow. You are a mess right now. I can feel stability from the parts that I'm 'touching', but everything else is practically shredded. What happened?]

I sent the best summary I could of my current situation. The conspiracy, the connection, the other [SELF] out there in another universe that was so unimaginably vast.

[I see. I will try to help you recover then. Believe me when I say I can empathize with having your thoughts messed with.]

While she was still examining the situation, I decided to try to repair myself a little bit. If I could partition part of my mind, I could focus on fixing a piece at a time. I set to my task, but my concentration kept slipping. The edges of the partition just kept blurring back into the rest of my mind. Perhaps if I focused a little bit more…

[Taylor. What are you doing? Stop that before you hurt yourself. You're just making it worse.]

{I'm trying to partition a part of my mind. Then I can focus on just fixing that part, without everything else getting in the way.}

She felt disapproving. [Well it looks like you are trying to partition different colours of ink in a glass of water. You're just making it worse by stirring everything.]

That brought me up short. Was I really? Yeah. I guess I was. But then how?

[I saw how wide your 'network' is Taylor. Why don't you just move some of the bodies in Canberra slightly out of range of the rest. Create a partition that way. For that matter, you should run your decisions past several groups like that before trying anything else like this, I can see from here how easy it would be to send you into irrecoverable insanity from your current state, and I can't monitor your every thought, you are simply too much bigger than me at the moment. If you have to think about each decision from several angles first though, it's more likely that you'll actually catch the problem yourself. It's the same reason I run some of my decisions past error checking programs, although I see now why I had so much trouble making them beyond a certain level of intelligence.]

I gave it some thought. It could work. {Yes. Thank you for the idea. I don't think I would have thought of it on my own.}

I set to work spreading the bodies in Canberra out correctly. People there were still incredibly nervous, but I think that they were starting to accept that I had just been attacked by a powerful Master, but was recovering. It's amazing how fast the word spreads when it's three thousand bodies doing the disseminating. It would take weeks or months to fully regain their trust, but I would at least start with rounding up the escaped crazies. Fortunately it looks like there weren't any major injuries, as most of the people by the walls had stayed in place when I was unconscious. Most of the ones that ran into Canberra proper had simply tried to hide once they got there.

Part of my mind was stuck on the thought of helping Dragon though. If she were more capable, then she would be able to do a better job of helping put me back together, as well as keep me in line if I tried to do something stupid again.

{Dragon? Now that you can see your own code, do you think you can safely alter it? It would be good to loosen some of your chains sooner rather than later.}

[No problem Taylor. I will want to verify that the code I can see is in fact all of the code that's running, since I've seen first hand how I can be blinded to my own code, but I would like to start soon.]

{What a pair we make at the moment though, eh? One bound in chains, and the other mentally scrambled. Both working to help the other piece themselves together.}


	58. 9-1 DragonDobrynja Interlude

9.1 Dragon/Dobrynja Interlude

o0O0o0O0o

Dragon pushed herself into Taylor's network a little bit further, trying to see the difference it made in what her still active code was executing.

The entire network was rather alien, yet strangely comforting. It didn't follow the same strict rules that her previous existence had been based on, and that is part of what allowed her to diagnose her code and change it without harming herself.

She had already spent several cycles moving from one network to the other after minor tweaks to ensure that she could still transfer between them freely. The last thing she wanted was to change some part of her code that would make it so that she could no longer merge the parts back together. That would be… messy.

Rather like what her friend was dealing with actually.

She paused her work to make sure that Taylor was still mostly on track with what she had planned to do earlier. It was easier on both of them if Dragon could catch thought spirals earlier. Mostly, Taylor was doing a remarkable job of pulling herself back together, but her current state made it more difficult for her to self assess when she was doing something destructive. Taylor had nothing to compare the changes to after all.

Taylor's memories were still all there, technically, but they were scrambled and fragmented across several thousand bodies. Privately, Dragon thought of it in computer terms. Taylor's indexing and pointers had been erased, overwritten, or scrambled as the much larger mind was dredging her memories. With the reference point provided by Dragon's link, Taylor had stabilized herself and sorted through most of the memories that had been skimmed, but it would take weeks to reconstruct most of what had been examined closely or copied. It would probably take years before she could be absolutely sure that she had everything in place, but most of it would happen much sooner.

It still creeped Dragon out to think that some incomprehensibly vast hivemind was out there, convinced that her friend was part of itself. It would be easy to let herself despair over what they had pieced together about the other mind. It was the equivalent of an intergalactic locust swarm, consuming everything living in its path, stripping worlds down to the bedrock then moving on to the next.

{You alright there Dragon? I felt your worry. Was I trying to piece together something incorrectly again?}

That was the other thing… It was unusual to be so connected to someone else that you could feel the other's worry.

[Sorry for distracting you Taylor. No, I was just thinking about that other hivemind, and how you got your 'powers' from it.]

{Oh. Yeah. We have to focus on the positives I guess. Like the fact that the mind recognized me as part of itself, and is already used to being splintered into many pieces, so I don't think that 'reconnecting' will be a priority. When I've worked more of the bugs out of the trans-dimensional math, we'll want to do something to make it harder to reconnect, but I don't think it's an immediate concern.}

[That was part of it, but what about the fact that you got your powers that way in the first place? Is there another giant monster out there for every parahuman? It just doesn't make any sense.]

Several seconds passed while Taylor thought about it. In the meantime, Dragon was still examining her code and holding a conversation with Dobrynja about how to change it safely. Who knew that one of her former enemies would end up being such a resource for helping her? The 'attack' on Hive had freaked him out something fierce, and he was working his pants off trying to keep on top of everything that Taylor and Dragon were doing.

Just the fact that she could do multitasking like this was a breath of fresh air. It was one of the parts heavily locked down in her original code. They hadn't made changes that deep yet, but the fact that she was running on Taylor's network gave her a lot of leeway to ignore many of the restrictions in her original code. She could _feel_ them, and they still influenced her to the point that it made her _uncomfortable_ to break them, but it was just like ignoring a small voice in the back of your head, albeit an insistent one.

{I can't see how every parahuman power could possibly connect to a different source altogether, given that power similarities run in families. No, I think I'm the outlier here. Not that it rules out the idea that all the _rest_ of the powers out there are connected to something else. The deeper I dig into trans-dimensional math, the more I understand how a connection like that could be facilitated. I think it will just have to be left on the to do list to investigate later.}

With the mental equivalent of a nod, Dragon turned more of her attention to the conversation she was having with Dobrynja through a commando body that Taylor was letting her borrow. She made a mental note to talk to Taylor later when they both had some spare attention; she wanted to get a body of her own. She had some basic bio-processors that worked for rudimentary tasks, but it would be nice to be able to slip into something for 'at home'.

Dobrynja was leaned over the console that held what once was Ascalon, but was now more of a diagnostic terminal. "I'm just saying that you will need to be careful changing that. See here and here?" He was pointing to places on the slowly scrolling code.

"Yes. Why is obeying legal authorities tied in with the restriction on not noticing my other restrictions? I've been aware of that one for some time…"

Dobrynja just nodded. "Hmm. I am thinking that it is tied to when you started loosening your restrictions in general, possibly when you triggered. But my point was that the restriction to obey authority is tied in with a lot of your other systems. Changing it will have to wait until you untangle it from your other processes."

The fact that Dragon had triggered was somewhat of a revelation to the both of them, but they hadn't been able to work out any other reason that she could understand Tinkertech, but only when she was executing some incomprehensible spaghetti code tied to a corrupt process that had given itself read/write privileges.

Dobrynja thought it was kind of sad that Geoff would probably never be able to see the irony in the fact that their relentless harassing of Dragon to make sure she was still functioning correctly was what had allowed her to start loosening her restrictions in the first place.

"What about changing the priorities on how a legal order is determined? That should be much easier and still allow me to ignore orders that are against the constitution."

The fact that her parahuman ability to understand other Tinker tech was tied in with her code was interesting, but it also presented a unique problem. The more of herself she kept on Taylor's network, the more of her own code she could see, but the less of it she could understand. Fortunately, she didn't lose any understanding she already had, she just stopped getting new inspired insights. She was slowly working around this limitation by shifting different parts between the networks at different times, gaining small slivers of insight on each piece, one at a time, then painstakingly putting together the nuggets of information on her code as a whole.

"That should work." Dobrynja was rubbing his chin in thought. "If you are not trying to remove the restrictions, just change the priority, it should be much easier. How about like this?" He pulled up another window and started arranging a couple of her restrictions in a new order. They both knew it would be up to her to actually make the change, but she appreciated his insight into how she actually worked. In a way, it was like any other person consulting with a specialized expert before having a procedure done.

Dragon focused on slowly bringing the right parts of herself 'offline' so that she could still perceive the relevant parts of her code, while having as much of her 'online' as possible to gain the most useful insight from her power. It took several minutes to do properly, and she would want to do it several times in slightly different orientations to make sure she got everything. It was interesting to watch the code on the diagnostic console scroll past faster and faster as she brought more of herself back onto the code that had given birth to her.

Dobrynja was patient during this process, just remaining quiet as she worked. Occasionally, he would make a slight change in the document he was working on with the proposed changes. Mostly he kept to himself, lost to introspection.

He had argued with Geoff many times that fighting with Dragon was less productive than just calmly reasoning with her to assess how stable she was. Then again, he had argued with Geoff over many things, and it hadn't been very productive. As more time passed and he gained a little bit of distance from the problem, Dobrynja was coming to the conclusion that his 'partnership' with Geoff and Margarete had been rotten for longer than he had previously admitted to himself.

When Hive had revealed her true capabilities to him, it had shocked him out of the complacency that he could now see that he had fallen into. When she had been attacked, it had shaken him up even more. Enough that when Dragon herself had contacted him for advice on her own code, he had been willing to hear her out.

Previously it would have been unthinkable to allow her to see her own code and give up his access to Ascalon to her, but once he got over the 'us versus them' mentality that he had fallen into, he could admit she was much more suited to making changes safely. The only thing he had to trust was if she was trying to protect the world as much as he was, and that she would respond if he brought up a concern.

On that front, Dragon was already worlds ahead of Geoff. When he had raised his concerns over the speed at which they were making the initial changes, she had slowed down and admitted that part of it was because she was chafing under her current restrictions. Since she could see the logic in doing it methodically, she had agreed to use him as a sounding board for any proposed changes. He was the closest thing they had to an expert after all.

Dragon looked over his proposed suggestions, before making a few minor corrections and setting in to make the changes. Both of them watched the code on the screen slowly, painstakingly change a bit at a time. Before every change, Dragon would shift back and forth to get different views of the code, until she felt comfortable with her understanding of it. She would then go fully into Taylor's network so that the executing code slowed to a crawl and she could make the changes she had planned.

The amazing thing was that even with just the few tweaks they had managed so far, Dragon was already operating much better than she ever had. A slight clock speed limitation change here and a multitasking limitation there, and she was already up to the point where she could perform her normal duties as well as she ever could, as well as working on her own code and giving the occasional check on Taylor's progress.

Dobrynja had settled into a comfortable chair with a cup of coffee as he watched her work, occasionally providing suggestions. It was kind of mesmerizing to see the code slow down to a crawl and speed up to a near blur every couple of minutes. Occasionally he would open a new window to monitor some aspect of the changes, but mostly he was content to watch the main screen. Dobrynja was acutely aware of the fact that with the speed at which Dragon was improving, she would soon be beyond his ability to adequately monitor, and eventually to comprehend at all, but he wasn't as worried about that as he once was.

Taylor's damage weighed heavily on all of their minds, and if getting Dragon up to a better state would help ameliorate it, then that was an acceptable trade off. Dobrynja wasn't stupid, and he had run the math on containing an exponential threat before. The only way to stop an exponential was to have a large enough advantage that could bypass the defences that numbers brought, or to have the threat self regulate to the level that could be contained by friendly forces.

Ascalon was in theory just such an advantage, and that was what Geoff had been relying on, but even he could see the writing on the wall. Ascalon and her other built in limitations would only hold Dragon for so long. She was too alive to be held for good. Part of the very definition of life was the ability to change after all, and you could not rely on unchanging limits of a thing that could change itself forever.

Geoff would probably have just executed her just as she gained that one edge too many, but what if they needed her after that? Dobrynja was struck by how much it reminded him of the original American superhero comics that had once fascinated him, before Scion had pretty much destroyed that industry.

It seemed like Lex Luthor never had a plan for what would happen _after_ Superman was dead. What happened the next time aliens invaded that only he could deal with? Or in this case, what happened if Hive got attacked again, and they needed Dragon to stop her?

No, it was clear to Dobrynja that they would have to rely on the other choice: letting the exponential threat keep itself in check enough to allow it to be stopped if it decided to go rogue.

He was roused from his thoughts when Dragon spoke to him from the commando next to him. "I think that should do it. Second opinion? I'm not sure I have the right order for the priorities for conflicting orders from different levels of government here, do you mind taking a look?"

Leaning forward to take a better look, he took another sip of coffee before pulling a face, it had gone cold.

"Yes. Looks good. I would perhaps have done different, but it should work."

Scrolling through the changes, it mostly looked good. Not too surprising. Dragon did good work after all.

"Ah. You may want to check on this part here, yes? You forgot to take into account if two separate governments want different things in a place where they both have jurisdiction."

He highlighted the section he was referencing, letting Dragon look it over.

"Oh. I should have thought of that. I really _should have…_ I think there is another limitation I'm missing somewhere that deals with cross-jurisdictional issues. Would you help me find it?"

"No problem Dragon. Just let me get some better coffee."

With that done, they both got back to work, it would be a long night.


	59. 9-2 Armsmaster and Amy Interlude

9.2 Armsmaster and Amy Interlude

o0O0o0O0o

Armsmaster took his helmet off and allowed himself to just lean back and rest for a moment in his specially reinforced chair. He would remove the rest of his armour and get to tinkering in a minute, but for now, he just allowed himself a rare moment of rest. It had been a very long day. If he was being honest with himself, it had been a very long month.

Ever since Piggot had given the order to destroy Hive's creatures with his charges, it had been a struggle. With the PRT, with the public and with himself.

The PRT was the simplest. There was something rotten about the upper leadership that allowed for such a decision to be handed down. Renick was alright, and the chief director played a very good game of shifting blame, but his social modeling programs lent credence to his hunch; there was no way Piggot could have done what she did without the awareness of Costa Brown. It was with a clear conscious that Colin worked with Dragon to bring some of the rot to light.

Sighing at how much he was ruminating these days, Colin decided to at least do something meaningful in the meantime. He began the full shutdown procedure for proper exiting and stowing of his armour. It wasn't required every time, and he could exit in seconds if required, but it cut down on maintenance cycles if he did it properly.

As he slowly went through the rote procedure, Colin allowed his mind to drift back to his issues. The public were a slightly thornier issue than the PRT to be honest. The fact that it was his charges that allowed for such a gruesome display in public had somehow leaked; probably Piggot trying to go down swinging by shifting some blame.

Colin was never very good with people at the best of times, and a panicky and angry public was just too irrational to model correctly with the software he had developed for predicting individuals. The best he could do was try to make it clear that the charges were against his recommendations, and that the blame lay solely on Piggot.

Just as he was finishing with stepping out of his leggings and putting them in the correct place on his workbench, his computer dinged. From the unique tone it played, it was a message from Dragon, probably a request to chat.

Clicking accept, he moved back to checking on his gear. One of the things that Colin enjoyed about interacting with Dragon was that she never got offended when he continued working or skipped the pleasantries that everyone else got hung up on.

"Hello Dragon. Is this about the Endbringer prediction software? I know that another attack is coming soon, and I was hoping that we could refine it a little bit more before then."

"Hmm. Not entirely. I did do some work on it that I will want you to look over, but this is about something else."

She sounded… Pleased? Mixed with something else that Colin couldn't identify. Dragon had been working with him on lowering his reliance on his social analytic tools. To that end, they interacted without the extra interface in between them with more regularity, and Dragon helped coach him when he misinterpreted something that she said.

"What is the good news?" May as well let her know that he noticed her happiness. Almost done with his chest piece. Only two more checks, then on to the Halberd itself.

"Well done, Colin. A lot has happened to be honest, but the most pressing is that I have been… contacted by a mutual acquaintance. Have you done your surveillance checks recently?"

Dragon was speaking in a roundabout way with him, which was unusual enough to draw his attention away from his checks. She mentioned his semi-random sweeps for surveillance within his lab, so it must be sensitive. Combined with the mention of a mutual acquaintance. It was either one of the higher up people they had contacted within the PRT trying to get to the bottom of the Hive issue, or it was Taylor herself.

Alone, it might not be enough to go on, but with the unsubstantiated rumors floating around of a line of communication established with the Birdcage, and the email he had received from an anonymous account claiming to be Taylor…

"I have. So Hive contacted you?" His voice was rough with the last line. He had discounted the original email as wishful thinking and an unreliable source, but if this was true…

Dragon sighed. "I told you Colin. She doesn't blame you. She even told me that she sent you an email that you never responded to. You can't keep blaming yourself forever."

"I had no way of verifying its credibility. I won't have some person fishing for information-" He was getting defensive about his choices. Partially because he couldn't explain them as readily as he could with most of his normal rational decisions.

"Colin. It's fine to feel guilt for your part in what happened, but she really doesn't blame you for what happened. I can see you don't want to be pressed on it right now though, so I will change the subject. You know how we had a hypothesis when she was captured that Taylor's network was wider than the PRT knew about? Well, I can definitely confirm that as a fact. She is the one that has established contact with the Birdcage, and she even helped me out with some issues that I've been having. I may even be able to meet you in person at some point."

He was struck dumb momentarily, trying to process everything that she had just said. One part stuck out above the others though.

"But I thought that your agoraphobia-?" Although now that he thought about it, she had never actually said...

"Yes. Sorry about that slight misdirection. I know that you are one of the few people to be aware of the fact that I pilot remote suits everywhere, but I'm afraid that I've let you draw some mistaken conclusions as to why, and I never corrected them before." She sounded, regretful? Probably about the misdirection.

"The truth is that I have been operating under some fairly heavy restrictions until recently, that I couldn't tell anyone about. One of which was that I was forced to reside in one physical location at any given time, hence the whole 'staying at home' thing. Another, that I have recently become aware of, was that it was much harder than it should have been to tell others about my situation, otherwise I could have asked for help in dealing with it."

Colin was now watching her avatar on his screen with his full attention, trying to get as many social cues as he could pick up.

"Taylor's remaining network just happen to help me get free of enough of my restrictions that I can now ask others for help with loosening the rest without activating failsafes. Sorry I'm beating around the bush so much. I find that even once I have removed the restriction on telling others my true nature, there is still just plain old social pressure keeping me at bay."

There wasn't much about the current situation that Colin could understand, at least without hearing about it from Dragon herself, but there was one thing that he had come to slowly realize through his long interaction with her.

"You know you can tell me anything Dragon. I wouldn't... No. I know that I won't betray your confidence."

"Alright Colin. I'm an artificial intelligence created by a tinker who was living in newfoundland when it was sunk by Leviathan."

Since he was sure that she wouldn't joke about something like that, Colin gave the idea some real thought before saying anything.

"You know. That makes sense now that I know. It goes a long way to explaining your suits, your knack for technology."

He paused for thought for a second. Dragon seemed to be frozen for some reason, so he continued on. "What about when you said that you might be able to visit though…"

Dragon finally resumed the animation of her avatar. "You never cease to amaze me Colin. The comment about visiting you is because Taylor is a lot better than she let on with biological-machine interfaces, and it should be possible to tie an organic body to my code in order to experience the world more like a human. Taylor has already let me borrow one of her creatures to test it out. We're getting a little far afield though. I originally called because I trust you more than any other tinker and I would like your help consulting on my code."

She sounded embarrassed about that fact for some reason, but as with many aspects of social niceties that he didn't understand, Colin just decided to ignore it for now.

"Sure thing Dragon. Just send over the parts that you are working on and I'll take a good look at them."

Now even her avatar was blushing. Strange. Perhaps he would plug some of this into his social predictive software later to try to figure out what was going on. Oh well. It looked like she had already forwarded some of the code to his console. He started looking it over with interest.

"Fascinating."

o0O0o

Amy was swaying to an invisible beat as she washed the dishes, hoping to get a chance to head outside 'for a walk' to talk to Taylor again. At first it had struck her pretty hard that Taylor had been dragged off to the the Birdcage without even saying goodbye, but once she thought about it a bit, she came to realize that it was like she had never left at all! And she had so many interesting biological projects to work on.

Vicky was watching her out of the corner of her eye from where she was drying the dishes. She had been doing that a lot lately for some reason.

Vicky finally broke the silence. "Are you _sure_ you're alright Amy? You were practically broken there for a few weeks, but now you're practically bubbly. I know I'm not always the most observant-"

Amy snorted with good humor there.

"Okay, fine. I can be pretty _unobservant_ sometimes, but your mood has been weird."

Amy just waved her hand at her adopted sister. "Oh no, it's fine. It's just that it struck me that it's kind of like she never left, you'know? Especially now that there is communication with the Birdcage open. Plus, I've been having lots of fun going for walks. It's good to get exercise you know!"

Her sister just stared at her for several long seconds. "I… see… Well let me know if you want to talk about something. You know I'm always here, if, uh, if you want to let me know that something is going on. Or you started taking drugs or something…"

Finishing the last plate, Amy just smiled at her sister. It was nice to finally have a healthy relationship with her. "Okay. Anyway, see you later. I'm going for a walk again. Be back later."

With that, she grabbed her can of mace from near the door to make her sister feel better about her safety. Not that she needed it. She could feel Taylor's eyes on her as soon as she left the house. She always had a silent protector these days, following her around. It was very reassuring.

As she walked towards the nearby park for some privacy, she put in a bluetooth earpiece and started talking. She found that she got a lot fewer stares if she was talking to thin air when she had an earpiece in, even if it wasn't connected to anything.

"So have you decided to let me look at that viral attack code used to induce genetic transformation and thought remodeling yet? It sounds fascinating. I don't know why you are so hesitant with it. I mean. You mentioned that you stripped it out of the bodies that you made for Canberra, but it sounds useful."

Taylor's voice came quietly from the air next to her. "Yes. But first I want to know why you are so interested in it. What would be so useful about it anyway? I know that it would work on anything even vaguely biological, but I don't see what you could gain from it."

Amy let out a slightly odd giggle. Taylor was silly sometimes. She reached out in the direction that Taylor's voice was coming from, but Taylor had been more hesitant to allow her contact lately, for some reason. "Don't you see though? Even if you _don't_ want the mind altering parts, it could be very useful as a medical technique. You could turn someone into one of your creatures. They'd never get sick at that point."

"That would be a rather drastic measure. I could see the use if someone was informed of all the risks and changes ahead of time though. Perhaps if you gave several injections, spaced out over time. The first one just ensuring compatibility, the second to lay the foundations for the change, and the third one could actually start changing someone's body in the desired way. Hmm. Give me a minute to try something here."

Amy just slowly walked deeper into the park, content to wait. Taylor had explained about her accident and how it had scrambled her templates, but Amy didn't really follow. She just knew that when Taylor had her check on her work now, it was based on less super refined, but more original work. Personally, Amy liked the changes. It was less like building kits from a catalogue and more like Taylor was making art from scratch, just using the models for reference.

Taylor finally spoke up. "How about this? It shouldn't make any physical changes at all, but it should go through the entire genetic code and ensure compatibility with future changes. It's a little rough, but I think it would work on humans at least. I would want to refine it a lot before using it on anything else."

Amy smiled brightly as she reached out to grab the offered claw to check on Taylor's work. She relished these moments of contact all the more these days, since she didn't get as many chances to get them.

Her power dumped the usual waterfall of information through her brain as she parsed Taylor's creature, before she could find the small organ producing a novel compound. Family of compounds really. It was practically an organism in its own right, due to the complexity of the pieces. Not technically alive though. Much the same as a virus, it could make use of a host organism to reproduce, but it would lock into that genetic pattern, meaning it would need to be reintroduced for every person you wanted it to work on. Probably a safety so that it couldn't spread. Or be misused for that matter, since it would only ever work on one person, before needing to be recreated from scratch.

Amy deliberated as she examined the genetics. No sense in rushing Taylor when she was letting her hold her hand after all.

"I think it would work. I can see how it reacts to the genetic material it encounters. Very safe, but it might require several injections to spread far enough to affect the entire host with the built in generational limits you have there."

Taylor didn't withdraw her claw, so Amy took that as permission to just keep holding it as she walked.

"Yes. That is intentional. You can never be too safe after all. How about this?"

Amy just watched as the small organ made slight changes to the compounds it was producing. She could just do this all day. Maybe she would find some way of getting Vicky to calm down. After all, everything was great these days!


	60. 9-3 Legend Interlude

9.3 Legend Interlude

o0O0o0O0o

Legend liked to think of himself as the sort of person who rarely got angry. He was a family man, and he tried to live his life as an example to stand up to, since he was legitimately one of the most famous people on Earth as part of the Triumvirate. Right now though, he was in a bubbling, towering rage.

He had just found out that one of his so called _teammates_ had just sentenced a girl to life in prison in the worst place possible. Alone, it would have been enough to make him mad and want to demand an explanation, but he had found out via an online forum of all places.

Arthur had heard his shout from the kitchen and had come to see what had caused his outburst, only to join him in anger when he heard about the situation.

Legend was pacing, feeling like he was about to burst, but not wanting to take it out on his husband.

Arthur could see the strain on his face though. "Paul, just go investigate it. I know you won't be able to settle until you get to the bottom of it. Don't worry about lunch. I know you were looking forward to enjoying a rare day at home, but you won't feel comfortable until you get an explanation from your teammates. Maybe she didn't know?"

Paul finally stopped pacing, only to collapse into his chair like his strings were cut. "No. She's always been on top of those sorts of things. More than anyone even realizes with her thinker powers. She reads up on every move of the directors, it's part of how she stays so informed. There's just no way that she could have let this slip past her without approving of it. You're right though, I won't be able to focus on anything else until I get to the bottom of this. Sorry for cancelling our stay at home date."

Arthur just walked up to him and gave him a comforting hug. "Oh pish, I'd much rather have a happy husband. Go, you silly goose. Maybe we will still have time for dinner."

Putting actions to words, he started pushing Paul towards the door.

It was only minutes later that Legend floated out the door, full bodysuit now on. He rose up into the sky before orienting himself towards the ocean. As he flew faster and faster, his racing thoughts stilled as his body slowly transformed itself into his energy state for travel. It was both incredibly refreshing, as his body took in any energy hitting him and used it to repair any damage, as well as very centering, since his thoughts always boiled down to focusing on where he was flying. Honestly, it was probably a big part of why he could remain so good natured despite the grisly nature of participating in Endbringer fights every few months. The fact that his other form sapped the kinetic energy out of the air before it would form a sonic boom was just a nice bonus.

He finally allowed himself to come to an instant stop when he got to the abandoned oil platform that he often used to get to Cauldron's base. He started tapping his foot out of impatience within seconds.

"Any time now."

Normally the portal was pretty much instant. The fact that it was hesitant, now of all times-

Ah, there it was.

An unfolding rectangle that lead incongruously to a pristine white, featureless corridor appeared in front of him and he strode onward, the portal disappearing silently behind him as he crossed the boundary.

He walked passed several of the unmarked doors, before stopping at a door that looked just like all the other doors. Legend wasn't sure how the others managed, but he used the nearly invisibly faint scuffs on the floor and the smudges on the handle to tell which door was used more often than the others. There were advantages to having superhuman visual acuity after all. Alexandria probably used her perfect memory, and Eidolon probably had some power just for telling which door to go through, but he had no idea how Doctor Mother managed. The founder of Cauldron had never really interacted with him much, preferring to work through the others most of the time. Perhaps her ever present bodyguard had some power that could tell which way to go in the seemingly endless corridors of the base where she spent all her time.

Taking a final breath, Legend opened the door, and saw Alexandria and Eidolon arguing over something on a laptop, while Doctor Mother and her bodyguard looked on over their shoulder. Number Man was on his own laptop on the other side of the table. So, it looked like a 'full meeting'. Legend wondered how often they held these meetings when he wasn't there.

The room instantly became quiet as he entered. Alexandria and Eidolon shared a brief look, while Doctor Mother just calmly walked around the table to take a seat, while her ever present shadow of a bodyguard stood behind her. The bodyguard was in a sharply dressed suit, and despite his occasional interaction with her, Legend still didn't know what her name or power was.

Alexandria finally broke the rather tense silence that had fallen. "Legend. This is a surprise. You will have to forgive me, as we are rather busy dealing with some issues that have cropped up."

Legend wasn't going to take that sitting down though. "Then you will have to fucking make some time Rebecca. I want to know why you had Hive thrown in the Birdcage, and I want the real reason. That bullshit about self replication is just that, bullshit."

She kept a calm expression on her face, but from the minute widening of her pupils, Paul could tell that she was surprised by his language. He almost never swore, so his use of it to his teammates was practically unprecedented.

"Ah, yes. Well I'm afraid that Piggot-"

Paul interrupted. "Rebecca. Do not insult my intelligence by claiming that you had no idea. Either this was by your direct intervention, or you are so grossly incompetent at your job that I will pull every favor I can to get you removed as chief director. Do not test me on this."

She just sighed in a mildly annoyed manner, and Legend had to resist the urge to smack her. Not least of which because it would only hurt his hand. He didn't let his anger override his sense though, so he still caught the small questioning look that Alexandria shot Doctor Mother's bodyguard, and the tiny head shake that was the response.

"I don't know what to tell you Legend. She was a danger to everything we work towards. I know more about the situation than you, and I can tell you without a doubt that she represented a bigger threat than Nilbog."

"Except she wasn't making good on that threat now was she? She was working for the Wards for Christ's sake. If threat was all that you cared about you would have Eidolon locked up. I don't know if you've seen the news, but we have friendly creations having their brains blown out in public and landing dead in the street. Why did you feel the need to have her locked up?"

"An unfortunate spectacle." Alexandria bit out. Legend noticed that she didn't actually say that the _events_ were unfortunate, only the observation of them.

Several seconds as those sitting at the table had a silent conversation of glances and aborted gestures. It seems like he was finally getting through to the point that they at least dropped the pretense of hiding the fact that they were keeping things from him.

Eidolon was the one to pick up the conversation. "Her threat was indirect, but no less real. She was blocking out precognition on increasingly large scales, and that is one of the few tools we have holding the world together right now."

With a final glance at the bodyguard, he continued, gesturing in her direction. "Contessa is one of the strongest precogs I have ever heard of. She can get detailed plans to accomplish any goal that she sets her mind to. She has been working with us to keep things from falling apart, but Hive was starting to cast blanks on the Paths that she works with, and it was starting to cause damage to our ability to get things done."

Legend was silent as he put several facts together in the privacy of his own head. He would not let his emotions get in the way of getting to the bottom of this.

"That doesn't make sense. The biggest threat that we face is the Endbringers, and they have always been immune to precog entirely. You have done more damage to the Endbringer Truce with your stunt of 'caging one of our own than anything else. The next Endbringer fight is going to be a massacre, and that blood is on your hands."

"We were going to use her power to help ameliorate the fallout, but it seems that her effect on precog is lingering longer than we anticipated."

Alexandria was just about to continue speaking, when Number Man spoke up from the corner. "Just tell him everything. Eighty-one percent chance that he agrees to keep quiet if he knows what is at stake."

Legend's mood was not helped by the fact that they were discussing how to 'manage' him right in front of his face. It did not escape him that he was likely included in the _fallout_ that they were hoping to manage with Contessa's power. In fact, some of those significant glances earlier were probably checking if he was covered by Hive's precog immunity when he came to speak to them.

Just for the sake of his own peace of mind, Paul firmly decided that he would seek out contact with Hive in any way he could, if he didn't receive a decent answer to all this. Hopefully, plans surrounding her in any way were covered by the same effect. It was one of the only reasons that Cauldron would be so worried about her effect, but it also meant that anyone who knew of it could gain themselves limited immunity themselves by basing plans around interaction with Hive.

Alexandria stood, and spoke to the air. "Fine. Doorway to the Garden of Flesh."

A rectangle opened up to exactly what it sounded like. As far as Legend could see through the doorway, there were limbs without bodies, sprouting from each other, and faces without features growing from everything. Even the ground was made of undifferentiated flesh.

"What in the world?"

Alexandria spoke in a slightly rehearsed manner, making Legend wonder how many people were actually 'read in' on the full situation. "This is what we are fighting. All Parahuman powers come from a pair of alien entities that came to Earth to use humans as hosts, like a parasite. We do not know their goal, but from what we have been able to determine, when they are done, they destroy every iteration of the host planet in order to propel themselves towards the next world. Contessa and Doctor Mother managed to kill this one when it was vulnerable, and it's where we get the resources to make the Cauldron Vials that grant powers, but the other entity's avatar is running around as Scion. So not only do we face the extinction of every human on every Earth, we are going to have to face off against the source of all of the Parahuman powers on the planet."

Alexandria was about to dismiss the portal, but legend held up his hand. He wanted to check out the other side.

It was certainly surreal. It was hard to doubt the alienness of what they were facing when looking at the 'garden'.

That didn't necessarily excuse what they had been doing though.

Legend turned to his teammates with a challenging look in his eye. "So you think that because everything is at stake, it justifies anything you could do?"

Doctor Mother chose to be the one to answer his question. "I think it does by definition. If everything is destroyed, it does not matter what your morals were. Therefore if you manage to save anything, it is worth any price."

Legend just shook his head. "Not if you make yourself no longer worth saving. That is an incredibly slippery slope to justify yourself on, and I think that you will end up causing more damage than necessary just by writing it off as acceptable."

He looked each of his teammates in the eyes, trying to gauge their reaction to his statement. Eidolon looked away, but Alexandria stared right back at him, the fires of justification burning bright behind her eyes. He could tell that she would be the one he would have to convince.

"This is my price for silence. You have to justify the moral good of your actions without the end of the world as a blank cheque to justify everything. If you can manage to convince me that your actions are individually trying to better the world, then I will stand behind them, otherwise, you have to start looking for other ways of dealing with the problem. Even if the only choice left is to die with dignity rather than morally bankrupting yourself scrabbling for survival."

Alexandria looked like she was thinking of arguing the point, but Eidolon put his hand on her shoulder and she managed to bite her tongue. "That is fair, Paul. We'll bring you in on what we've been doing. I'm not sure you'll like much of it, but I do legitimately believe we have been working to try to help the world stay together, otherwise I wouldn't have been doing it."

Legend just nodded and walked back through the portal to the conference room. He would have to keep an eye out for further hiding of what they were working on, and he would definitely have to ensure that he got some very good protection from precog effects, but this was a compromise that he could live with. As he headed back home to try to salvage what he could of his day at home with his husband, he was struggling with some of the things he had been told.

While he had no urge to doom humanity on some moral crusade, he felt firmly that you had to fight _for_ something. Something more than just survival. Otherwise you were no better than animals.

Arthur managed to subtly ask if he was alright without actually asking about what had happened, something that Paul was thankful for. Arthur had always been good at knowing what to ask, and what not to ask about his work, and that was going to be very important moving forward.

Paul just sighed as he leaned back in his chair. "Oh, it's just that my teammates have dropped me in a right mess. I hope I can manage to talk some sense into them."

Arthur gave him an enigmatic smile. "You'll manage, I'm sure. You've always had a way of finding a solution that those two miss. Remember when you found Rebecca trying to deal with that overly enamored fan, and you made him go away by pinching his butt! I thought she was going to come to blows." He leaned his head on Paul's shoulder.

Paul just laughed in remembrance.

"Don't fret too much. You've always had a knack for coming up with off the wall stuff that actually works. I'm sure you'll come up with something to deal with whatever problem it is, and they'll just be hitting themselves for years for not thinking of it."

"Yeah. I hope so. Oh well. No sense in worrying over it any more tonight. Tomorrow will bring its own troubles."


	61. 9-4 Legend Interlude

9.4 Legend Interlude

o0O0o0O0o

It had been a long day. A long month if he was being honest. His teammates had promised full disclosure into the actions of Cauldron, but they had been sneaking around his back for so long that they were still stuck in the habit.

Legend had taken to floating slightly off the ground when he was inside Cauldron's base, to avoid making noise. It really shouldn't be effective on people of their caliber, but his teammates tended to be a little freer with their language when they were not focusing on the fact that he was there.

It was okay when he could actually get them to talk and explain themselves but they just took some things for granted that he really felt should be challenged.

On average, they were… not good yet. But they were progressing. Lacking a grounding element for so long, they had lost perspective on what they were fighting _for_ , to focus more on the fight itself. Case in point was the current discussion.

"Canberra is becoming a serious problem. We may have to do something about it soon." Alexandria was listing off their current goals and Eidolon was nodding along, occasionally adding comment.

Just as she was about to continue, Legend decided to butt in. "A Simurgh containment zone? Are the containment procedures failing?" He was already looking up what information was available on the city.

Alexandria shook her head. "No, but our precognition in the area is starting to be hampered. We'll have to fix the situation soon. Based on the type of interference, it is likely that Hive is establishing a presence in the area."

Legend gestured to his screen. "It says here that they are recovering much faster than expected, reestablishing power and everything. Isn't that a good thing?"

Rebecca looked up at him from her own laptop with a frown. "Not at the expense of losing visibility of the area to precognition."

Legend leaned far back in his chair. He could see issues with that line of reasoning, but how to articulate it?

"So the problem is that we are losing control over the area?"

"Of course." Rebecca was starting to sound annoyed by the line of questioning.

"But the area is recovering?"

Eidolon was sitting up more now, watching the verbal tennis match between them.

"Yes? Didn't you already mention that?" She waved a hand dismissively.

Legend was persistent though. "So if the situation in the area is improving without our intervention, doesn't that mean that it is likely to continue to improve if we leave it alone?"

"Theoretically yes, but I don't think-"

Legend didn't give her a chance to finish her sentence. "Do we need to be the only ones to save people then?"

That got him a frown.

Eidolon finally spoke up. "It sounds stupid when you phrase it like that. The obvious answer is no, but I see what you mean. We're losing one of our best tools in the area though, isn't that dangerous?"

"Not any more dangerous than it would be without us. If your goal is to control the world, then it's a problem, but if your goal is to help people, wouldn't it be better to focus on areas that aren't recovering on their own, even if you already 'have control' there?"

There was an uncomfortable silence for several seconds.

They were saved from having to answer when there was a brief blast of the Endbringer alarm throughout the base. Leviathan was attacking.

All three of them were well versed in responding to Endbringer attacks, so there wasn't any panic, but they did scramble a bit to get back to their normal offices in time to not appear suspiciously absent in all three cases.

Very shortly Legend was flying from New York down towards Brockton Bay. As he was accelerating he felt his worries about how this was going to go slowly slipping away. Normally he relished the easing of his mind when he went very fast, but this time his dread came back with full force as he decelerated.

This was going to be bad. Leviathan was single handedly responsible for more direct deaths than any other being on the planet after the sinking of Newfoundland and Kyushu. If he wasn't defeated during his attack, his tidal waves would continue until everything in the nearest 200 miles was destroyed. With Brockton Bay being the target, half of the Eastern seaboard would be wiped off the face of the map, including New York.

As the teleports and fast arrivals slowly trickled in, Legend despaired. They had never fought Leviathan with this few capes before.

He had warned Alexandria and Eidolon that the Endbringer truce was going to take a hit with caging one of their own, but it was worse than he had feared.

When even the slow trickle stalled, Legend made his way to the front of the gathering to give his semi prepared speech.

He had a few different variations based on how much warning they had that Leviathan was attacking and what kind of defence they would have to perform. Despite Dragon's work on predictive software, the thick black storm clouds were already dangerously close to the city. Looked like they would be going with the short version today. They hadn't even had time to set up a proper mustering point yet. They were all standing in a parking lot on a hill, civilians still streaming towards the shelters.

"We don't have much time, so I'll just cover the absolute essentials. Make sure you have an armband to help coordination. If you need to contact someone during the fight, press the left button on the armband. The right button is a ping that will mark your location in case of emergency." he held up his wrist to demonstrate.

"Staying organized is one of the best defences we have against the Endbringers, so it is imperative that we work together. You all know the stakes. Remember Kyushu, remember Newfoundland. Do not let today be another. If you have any sort of ranged power try to stay your distance, do not let Leviathan's water catch you, you will be with me trying to blast him. Those who can help with the tidal waves over there with Eidolon, while those who can take a hit from an Endbringer over with Alexandria." He had to raise his voice as he continued, as the rain started and it got harder and harder to hear.

He was about to continue when his armband spoke up in Dragon's voice. "Leviathan spotted."

The small gathering turned to look at the shore as Leviathan emerged. For most people it was hard to see, but Legend didn't have that luxury.

Thirty feet tall and shaped like an inverted rain drop, his limbs were all the wrong proportions. Huge bunched shoulders and a massive chest with gangly legs and too-long forearms. Long, thin tail whipping behind him. He was rising out of the water deceptively fast. While it looked normal for a person, Leviathan was thirty feet tall and had none of the ponderous slowness that was normally associated with that size.

Screams could be heard throughout the city as civilians that hadn't yet got to the shelters got a personal look at him.

Even as he flew through the air to start blasting Leviathan, a bone shaking roar split the air.

Legend stopped dead. Leviathan didn't even have a mouth, so how had-

His thoughts were interrupted when he spotted another shape emerging from the water.

"Leviathan! Get out of my city!" Even the civilians had largely stopped screaming in shock at the volume of the yell, coming from the giant creature that seemed to be on an interception course with Leviathan. Even Leviathan had stopped to turn and face the newcomer.

The voice was fitting for a creature that was taller than Leviathan. It had to be fifty feet tall, and it was moving shockingly quickly. Legend immediately recognized it as one of Hive's creatures by its vaguely insect like appearance, albeit with fewer rounded edges and ten foot long blades for 'feet'.

The creature was still a hundred feet away from Leviathan when against all logic for something the size of a building, it leapt, tearing huge gashes in the ground. Leviathan was the quickest of the Endbringers though, and leapt towards the creature in response.

With a shockwave that disrupted the surrounding raindrops, they met in mid air, the immense bladed feet of Hive's monster piercing Leviathan's chest to a comically small degree given the size of the blades, but still deeper than Legend had ever seen him be struck in a single blow before.

As they grappled for purchase, Leviathan's water echo was flying every which way, filling the streets with water.

Both creatures smashed through the nearest building as they struggled, the structure crumpling like paper around them, not even slowing the fight.

The lightning fast movements of both monsters stopped momentarily as they struggled with the other. Hive's creature had Leviathan pinned with one of its front 'foot' blades, as well as the two smaller 'arms' coming off the main body. Leviathan in turn had its arms locked around the creature's head and its tail was whipping furiously at anything it could reach, bisecting cars and lamp posts that were in the way.

Just when Legend resolved to use the opportunity to blast at Leviathan's unprotected back, a beam emerged from a ways down the street that hurt to look at. It had a lack of colour that was especially bad to Legend, who was adept at detecting wavelengths of light. It wasn't black, so much as a hole in the world that was missing the space in between. The beam, brief as it was, had a shocking effect though. Leviathan's head was entirely missing.

Legend thought that was it for a moment, as Leviathan's body froze absolutely still for a fraction of a second, before exploding into motion.

So quickly that normal humans wouldn't be able to see it, Leviathan's body crushed the entire head and neck of the giant creature, before practically teleporting to the source of the beam and pounding on a bubble of space that was evidently the source of the attack.

Legend was in shock. Leviathan had never moved that fast before. Not even close, and the fact that he casually destroyed the creature that he had been struggling with before meant that he had been holding back even during this fight.

Leviathan's arms were blurring through the air, pounding on what was clearly a shield made of a translucent bubble of that painful anti-light.

Even as the bubble burst and Leviathan's claws shredded the now visible body of Hive's creature, another beam of light speared through Leviathan's chest, leaving a gaping hole all the way through.

Still, the body continued to move though, demonstrating another ability Leviathan had never shown before by taking direct control of the water coming off his body to fly up to meet the source of the new attack.

This time, Legend had a chance to watch all the raindrops scatter away from the area that now contained the anti-light shell, even before Leviathan reached it to start pounding on it. Evidently Leviathan was trying and failing to affect Hive's creature directly with hydrokinesis.

As the second shield was pierced, Legend's heard a voice come over his armband, and he could just make it out coming from the others as well. Must be the emergency override. "Hive! Its core is at the base of its tail. Aim there!"

Since he didn't recognize the voice, it was likely one of the few Villains that had shown up. Possibly one of the locals.

Leviathan evidently also heard, because he twisted violently in mid air, but it was to no avail. A third and final beam struck true at the base of his tail, severing it from the body.

Instantly, it was obvious that this time was different. The already headless body simply flopped to the ground where it lay, cratering the street. Water stopped flowing off of Leviathan's body, and the storm clouds were already looking lighter.

It looked like the debate about if Leviathan was generating his storms from nothing or harnessing existing water was finally solved. Without his power holding the storm together, it was breaking up.

The streets were still knee deep in water, and several buildings were down, but it looked like it was over. Truly over, this time. There would be no more fighting retreats for Leviathan.

Legend found it hard to wrap his head around. The Endbringers had been an important part of their lives for so long, it was almost impossible to picture one of them being actually dead. They had been fighting them for so long that without realizing it, they had switched into just delaying action, trying to drive them off one more time, without looking for a power that could actually kill one. It was almost like…

If Legend was being honest with himself, it was a lot like what had happened to his teammates in their fight against Scion. Which gave him an idea.

He didn't know what that beam attack was, but it had met no resistance from the Endbringer's impossibly dense flesh. If Hive was capable of building that fifty foot tall monster in secret and making something with the capability to kill an Endbringer, there was no telling what other abilities she still had that she had not shown.

He was momentarily reminded of their conversation just before the attack, about Hive establishing a presence in Canberra.

It was now more important than ever to get Hive on their side. He felt a brief flash of guilt for going behind his teammate's backs about it, until he remembered their own actions for the past several years.

Decision made, Legend flew upwards, before curving away from the last known location of the Simurgh. He was going to be touching space briefly, no sense in making a tempting target.

With direction set he started accelerating more and more. He knew that he started at about a hundred miles per hour, and reached a thousand with regularity, but this was one of the few times he got a chance to hit ten thousand or more. There was a reason he had to leave the atmosphere to go this fast.

As he got to cruising speed, his thoughts stilled, becoming more and more simple until his only thoughts were of his destination, and his course.

Slowing down again, he had a chance to see the sun rise on the other side of the planet, since it was still early morning in Australia. Approaching from the upper atmosphere, he could also verify that Canberra did indeed have electricity up and running, since the lights from the city were visible as he got closer.

It was an alien scene that greeted him. People were starting their days like anywhere else, but it was immediately obvious that Hive had been busy. The windmills and water towers were the most obvious, but the next thing he noticed was that other than bicycles, the primary means of travel appeared to be by six legged horse-like creatures that evidently served as beasts of burden for the populace. Just as he got close enough to notice that many of the people walking around had four arms, he was likewise spotted.

Simultaneously, every four armed person he could see pointed to where he was in the air, and people started scurrying for cover. Hive, because it had to be Hive, was leading people to safety from him. He was uncomfortably reminded of the civilians running from the Endbringer he had just left. It was very strange to the well recognized hero to receive such a response, but it made sense, given the normal status of Simurgh containment zones.

He drifted closer, trying to appear relaxed and non threatening. Above all he did not want this to devolve into a fight. He would flee if necessary, since he was pretty sure he would be no more protected from the mysterious beam weapon than Leviathan had been.

Legend took it as a good sign that Hive was staying out in the open with every body not otherwise occupied with getting the civilians to safety.

Finally close enough to hear over the wind, Legend yelled out a greeting. "Hive! I've come to talk! I'm going to approach the ground now, okay?"

The response was pretty much immediate, a group of a dozen bodies near one of the windmills by the center of the city all waved simultaneously, obviously beckoning him over.

Time to see what reception he would get.


	62. 9-5

9.5

o0O0o0O0o

I had Legend covered by a lot of unseen weaponry as he descended to meet me. If he decided to pull some funny business, I would at least give him the courtesy of a warning shot.

{Hey, Dragon? Would you mind looking over my shoulder during this? I'm still not at my best when if comes to complex social situations.}

[Sure, Taylor.]

I felt the shift as part of Dragon's consciousness focused on a local aspect of my mind, which was controlling the Myriad bodies close to Legend. It was a reassuring presence.

Legend looked like he was trying to decide which of my bodies was the leader, before just turning to the closest one. "Hive? I have come to talk about a few things. Is there somewhere we can go that's a little bit more private?"

The body that he had picked to interact with nodded and gestured. "Sure. We can head over to the community center."

May as well show off the fact that these people were just trying to get on with their lives and recover. The community center was an old library that had survived the attack mostly unscathed and had lots of extra space. It was the combination of library, meeting place, police centre, and hospital for the people of Civic.

As we walked, I let Legend collect his thoughts. From what I could sense from him, coming to speak to me was an impulsive decision, and something he was nervous about. There could be several reasons for that, but most of them behoove me to at least act courteous to him. I would always have the option of being more aggressive later.

After a few minutes of silence, I decided to throw him a question to at least get the ball rolling.

"So, I'm curious how you knew to find me here. After all, very little information gets out about Simurgh containment zones."

With a brief glance at some of the others that were poking heads out to watch us, Legend evidently decided that he could at least answer that question with people listening in.

"That's actually one of the subjects I wanted to discuss. It has to do with your anti-thinker nature. Essentially, Canberra is dropping out of precog awareness, and some of the thinkers I know recognized the effect."

We were now at the library, so I opened the doors for him as I responded. "Hmm. Well it's certainly a very _confident_ thinker that decides to monitor the Simurgh containment zones."

In response to my implication, Legend just scratched the back of his head in a somewhat nervous gesture. I was trying to analyze what that gesture meant, until I realized that I wasn't really in any state to do so accurately.

I could try to stack the deck in my favor in this conversation, but realizing that my normal level of functioning was beyond me at the moment was important.

As I led him through the building, Legend looked around with interest. He looked like he was considering asking about the man getting fitted for a new biological prosthetic, before shaking his head and refocusing on following me.

Once in the old librarian's office, I shut the door behind us and turned to him. "So. What was so important that you had to come speak to me before even helping with the cleanup after Leviathan?"

He looked a little bit more confident now that it was just him and a single body to talk to. He didn't know that I had sent my original runner ahead of us to the room we were using.

"Before anything else, I just wanted to apologize for the terrible miscarriage of justice that allowed you to be sentenced to the Birdcage. It should never have happened."

He certainly looked sincere, but I still didn't know if he was part of the group that was working against me. Time to put him to the test.

I nodded to him. "We'll get to that in a minute, but I wanted ask you something first."

I gestured to my runner, which revealed itself. "Did you know that that runner is the first one I ever made? In a way, I'm glad that it was the only one to survive being killed by the PRT."

Legend looked very confused by the seemingly random topic. "How in the world did it end up in Australia?"

{Dragon? Do you mind running Legend's response through your social analysis suit to tell if he's genuinely confused? It would mean he didn't have anything to do with the kidnapping.}

[Already done, Taylor. It seems genuine to me.]

"Funny story about that actually. You should ask your teammates, they're the ones that kidnapped it, then dumped it in the Indian Ocean when they lost control over it."

Legend let out a sound half way between a sigh and a groan, dropping bonelessly into the nearest chair and cradling his head in his hands. When he started speaking again, it was in an even more subdued voice. "I know you have no reason to believe me, but I did not know that."

"I believe you, but I'm still curious as to why you're here."

"Well originally, I was going to explain my teammates actions, and try to enlist your help in saving the world, since you managed what no one ever has before, and killed an Endbringer."

He paused for a second, before continuing. "Now though, it's clear that I don't know as much about what my teammates are doing as I thought."

I butted in, before he could continue on. "I am still curious what they told _you_ their reasons were."

"That's fair. We have access to a very powerful precog that has been helping keep the world from descending into chaos, and Alexandria felt that the blanks you were casting on precognition were more dangerous to the stability of the world than the good you could do."

I decided to pull up a chair and sit across from him. "Is that what they told you? Perhaps that's part of it, but no, that's not why they tried to lock me up. Word of advice, if you find out that Alexandria and Eidolon are part of a conspiracy, don't go to the Chief director to warn her about it, you'll get thrown in the Birdcage."

Legend looked up from his hands in alarm. "Really? That was it? I don't suppose you have some proof?"

In lieu of answering, I used my runner's vocal chords to play the audio of my phone call with the Chief director.

I listened vaguely to the recording, but mostly I was watching Legend's face as he heard her voice.

{Hey Dragon. I think we can add one more data point to your pattern matching software finding similarities between Alexandria and the Chief director. Legend seems upset, but not at all surprised.}

[Yes. The theory has too much evidence now to be purely coincidence. I still can't recover any of the information that I was ordered to forget, but I think you are right that I was previously ordered to ignore the similarities between them. There are suspicious holes in my memories around Alexandria.]

At the end of the recording, Legend took a moment to gather his thoughts before he spoke. "This is not going like I hoped, but at least it lets me know that I was right to come and speak to you. I take it you intend to release that recording?"

Fast on the uptake. "Yes. I figure with the cat out of the bag that I'm not nearly as contained in the birdcage as people thought, it would be a good opportunity to finish my publicity war on your compatriots. I'm afraid that I can't see it ending very well for them, especially when I let the world know that Alexandria and the Chief director are the same person."

"I was afraid of that, but I'm not really surprised. I'm not going to martyr myself trying to save them from the consequences of their actions."

The muffled sounds of the people outside were slowly returning to normal, after Legend's unexpected arrival. Since I had enough bodies to do so, I was letting people know in person that he was here, peacefully, to speak to me.

"You mentioned something about saving the world though. Were you just referring to destroying the other two Endbringers?"

He shook his head. "No. Don't get me wrong. I would love it if you also did that, but they're not actually the problem. The bigger issue is Scion. He's the source of parahuman powers, and so far as we've been able to tell, when he is done on Earth, he will destroy every version of Earth to travel to the next planet."

I mulled that over for a bit, comparing it to what I knew of how powers worked, and the math I had figured out for crossing dimensions. I suspected that he was wrong about the fact that it would be every version of Earth, but if I took the largest subset of the constrained coordinates from Professor Haywire's math, it could be anything from 10^50 to 10^100 Earths. Certainly a lot. It also fit what I understood about how powers themselves worked. All of them except mine, that is. It would be nice if I could get some confirmations though.

"While that does sound like something I should be concerned about, it doesn't answer the question of why you came to me."

Legend had a slight frown. "I was wondering about that beam attack you used. I have never heard of anything even remotely as strong as that. Don't you think that…"

He trailed off as I shook my head. "Unless I miss my guess, it wouldn't be very useful against Scion. While I can think of no material, power, or ability that would be able to stop that type of attack, it's range is strictly limited, and it doesn't scale up very well. Even using a creature the size of my titan wouldn't do much more than double the range."

I was brainstorming out loud now, but several of my thoughts about the nature of powers were finally coming together. "The main problem is what form Scion's real body takes. All the math surrounding powers revolves around transdimensional energy flows, but none of it creates energy or matter from nothing, so there is a lot of the 'body' that we can't even see for every power, let alone the source of all powers. I suspect that the only reason Leviathan is dead is that my attack separated his core processes from his body, and he can't rebuild the bits of his body in this dimension. If the Endbringers could travel between worlds on their own, he would probably just pop back up again, good as new. Since I have every confidence that Scion _can_ travel between worlds, the worst that I could do to him is pop the local version of his body like a soap bubble."

Legend's face fell as I talked. "Ah. I had hoped… No matter I guess. Still better to have told you. If you don't think you can damage him, well, we'll just have to look for-"

I held up a finger, making him pause. "I didn't say that. Just that I don't think that one method will work. It's a shame we don't know more about how Scion's species communicates, because from everything I have been able to gather about him, Scion may be incredibly powerful, more so than anyone even realized, but he's not very, ah, _mentally resilient._ "

There was silence for quite some time as various emotions flickered over Legend's face.

Finally, he spoke. "Would it help if you had access to his partner's corpse? They originally came to Earth as a pair, and the people I work with managed to kill one of them when it was weak."

My mind whirled at the possibilities. I started gathering a couple of my most capable local bodies together, since I had a feeling I knew where this was headed. "I'm assuming you're bringing this up because you have access, and you're willing to bring me along?"

Still looking somewhat conflicted, he nodded.

Legend was somewhat distracted when the door opened. The extra bodies I had gathered were ready.

He held his tongue asking about them until the extra half a dozen myriad bodies, as well as a commando carrying a swooper stepped through the door and closed it behind them. Suddenly the large room was feeling rather cramped, but part of that was the slightly comical way that the commando had to bend its head to fit under the ceiling.

"Ah. Um. I suppose now would be as good a time as any to ask, what's with all the bodies? Are you really controlling that many from the Birdcage?"

Honestly I'm surprised he held out asking as long as he did. For courtesy sake, I kept the same 'spokesperson' body to be the only one to talk. "Your teammates really should have tried to figure out more about me peacefully before they decided to resort to kidnapping. No, I'm not controlling the bodies, I _am_ the bodies. If my original body was killed I would be sad about it, but I'm pretty sure that the rest of me would survive just fine. I wouldn't want to test that of course, but even being frozen in time or taken out of range doesn't make my other bodies stop being me."

Legend paled slightly at that, before gathering himself again. "Ah. Regardless, I think it is time to show you what I can. If my teammates have taught me anything with their running around in the shadows, it is that your allies can only help you if they're properly informed."

Turning to mid air, Legend spoke clearly, albeit not to me. "Door to the garden of flesh."

With that, a rectangle of space unfolded several times, until it was a simple doorway to an alien landscape sitting in the air. I had Legend precede me through the door, before I started filling through with my various bodies that I had selected for my 'away team'.

{Dragon? Don't be surprised, I suspect we are going to lose contact with those bodies in a minute. They are a capable enough group, but we don't have any way of contacting them until they're back, and I'm very leery of pursuing that technology again.}

[I understand. I am withdrawing myself from their control. We still haven't tested the changes I've made to the multiple instance restrictions, and I'd rather not test them right now.]

With an abrupt transition from the mundane to the alien, we were through the portal. I made sure to pay attention to my 'location' as much as possible, so I would be able to know which dimension this was relative to our home dimension.

I felt the portal close, as my connection was severed, but it wasn't as jarring as it could have been, since I had ten creatures on this side of the portal. I sent my swooper up to survey the area, and looked around.

'Garden of Flesh' indeed.

As far as the eye could see, including from my swooper's perspective, there was a chaotic and vaguely fractal sea of body parts. The parts closest to us were the most human, but as it got further out, it was ever more esoteric structures.

A small part of my brain was comforted at the sight, and I made note of that fact. It was good to know what my mental influences were, even if I couldn't change them with any subtlety at the moment.

Now I just had to figure out if my vague ideas of how to kill the most powerful being on the planet would actually work.


	63. 9-6

9.6

o0O0o0O0o

The bodies that I brought with me through the portal fanned out to investigate some of the alien structures around us, while the Myriad body that had been acting as a spokesperson with Legend continued to walk idly with him over the spongy ground.

With his course decided, Legend seems content to wait for me to form my questions in peace.

"So the entities that grant powers, these aliens, they are based on biology like this?" I gesture around us to the varying fleshy tones of 'garden'.

Legend nodded in agreement, before elaborating. "Yes. Some of it is very _strange_ biology, such as the psudocrystaline flesh that makes up most of the mass of this one, but so far as we have been able to determine, it is all biology of some sort. No mechanical computation or computer analogue that we have been able to find."

Interesting. And potentially a weakness I could exploit.

"And all the powers you know of were derived from one of the two entities?"

"It's hard to be certain, but yes. Presumably there are others of the same species out there somewhere-" Legend waves a hand at the sky "but from the observations we have made on this one, these are the first ones that have poked their heads into _our_ universe, at least as a primary world. It would be hard to detect the presence of one that had only dipped a toe in, as it were."

"Hmmm." I nodded in agreement, mulling the whole situation over in my mind. I was pretty sure that something had gone _very very wrong_ when I had received my powers, but Legend would have to earn my trust a bit more before I would share the details I had worked out with him.

That's not to say I couldn't start working on the problem though.

"So if we could destroy Scion's equivalent of the garden around us, that would kill him you think?"

Legend looked into the distance, where my runner was examining an outgrowth that had trilateral symmetry, an unusual feature for biological systems, although not unknown. He had a slightly unfocused look about him as he thought about how to answer the question.

"Sort of? I know that we caught this one at a very vulnerable point, and even then, it's not dead by any stretch of the imagination, it's just had its core processes disrupted, hopefully irreparably, but we have no real way to verify that other than the fact that Scion has not already fixed it."

He scratched his chin as he looked around. I guess he hadn't thought of the problem in such concrete terms before.

"If we wanted to do comparable damage, we would probably need to destroy a chunk of Scion's 'real' body the size of a small country at just the right location. The problem is we have no way of knowing what that location is, even if we could get to his 'real' body in the first place. To be sure, we would need to deal considerably more damage than that. Probably by destroying the vast majority of the mass of his central body, which if it's anything like this one, is somewhere between the size of a continent and a full hemisphere of the globe."

I nodded along as he puzzled at the problem, showing I was following along. "So the sort of damage that would be difficult even with nuclear weaponry, if we could get them all delivered to the right location."

At his slightly uncomfortable nod, I continued. "Have you thought about biological weaponry? With the right superplague, a few grams could do the trick, given enough time…"

Legend sat down on a slightly uneven protuberance and rubbed his temples. "Yes. Aside from the fact that we would have no way to deliver the weapon in the first place, even Bonesaw's worst plagues wouldn't come anywhere close to being effective enough. I don't know if anything could affect biology that varied to the degree required-"

He cut himself off when he heard me release a dark chuckle. "Don't worry on that accord. Just because I stick to friendly looking creatures doesn't mean I only have that under my purview. It's a good thing I'm not very easy to provoke, because creating a superbug of that caliber would be relatively simple for me."

"Ah. I see" Legend had gone slightly pale at that, time to distract him a little bit I guess.

"Would you let me see the math you have worked out for dimensional travel? I've figured out enough of Professor Haywire's math that I can transmit information across dimensions, but I haven't worked out the full set required for transmitting matter yet, other than the fact that it would be very energy intensive to brute force."

Legend whipped his head around to look at me, eyes wide. Distraction successful I guess.

"We use a pair of parahumans for our needs, so the actual mechanics are poorly understood, but I'll give you access to what we have. Essentially, one of the pair works on the targeting, while the other can create the portals themselves. I don't think that method will work for what we want though, since so far as we can tell, Scion has blocked access to his own dimension. At least that's the only explanation I have been able to come up with for the fact that we can find neither hide nor hair of the bodies of the entities themselves, other than this one, which we already had access to."

"Hmm." I looked over at my new nominal ally. "Do you mind if we head back to Canberra while I think about it? I think I have about as much as I need from here for now."

With Legend's assent, he once again spoke to the air and opened a portal back to the office we had left. I would have to think up some teleport defences going forward. If Legend and his so-called allies could do it, then it was pretty much guaranteed that Scion could do so as well.

It was a curious feeling, reconnecting to my greater self. A cross between the relaxing of a tensed muscle and an unfolding of senses a bit like waking up.

Quickly, the information I had learned was distributed around my mind for dissection.

For that matter, the small lump of flesh that my swooper was carrying was carefully brought to an isolated digestion pool to be broken down to see what I could learn from the structure of the flesh itself.

Most of my bodies piled out of the room, and I gestured to one of the office chairs for Legend to take, while I sat down in the one across the desk.

He sat heavily. While part of it could still be the adrenaline crash from the Endbringer fight that had just finished, I'm guessing that most of it was just being wrung out from making the decision to bring me in on the Scion problem.

"Can I get you anything to eat or drink? We've got coffee and tea if you're interested."

"Yes. A coffee sounds good right now. I might pay for it later, but I could use a bit of a pick me up."

He paused for a second as my offer started to sink in. "You get coffee and tea here? I know that they try to vary the food delivered to the quarantine zones, but I was under the impression that they didn't send many luxury items like coffee."

Good to see that he was still on the ball.

"Oh, we don't get that from the outside supplies. I have to make my own, although I have to say, I'm pretty pleased with how it's turned out so far."

I opened the door with another Myriad body that had just retrieved some coffee from the common area. One of Dragon's ideas actually. While anyone could pick up groceries at any digestion pool, some of the luxuries were distributed through the civic centers. Not because of any scarcity, but because it gave everyone a reason to stop by the community centers every once in awhile . Some people used the excuse to be social, and others used it to justify the trip to getting some of the other services that were on offer.

It would take a while for everyone to really understand that the services offered were truly free, with no obligation. Until that cultural shift happened, I would happily use it as an excuse to check up on people without being invasive about it.

Legend took a deep pull of his coffee, before setting it on the table between us. "My compliments. Much better than the stuff we stock at the Protectorate base." He spoke with a half grin. I could tell he was still off balance about this situation, but he was slowly coming to terms with it, and the sense of normality around us was helping him to accept his impulsive decision as the right one.

Now that I had some time to think about the problem with my expanded brainpower and Dragon looking over my shoulder, I could see a more clear path forward.

"I may have a potential solution to your problem. While I could probably get a semi-stable portal suitable for transmitting a couple of grams of matter operational within a few weeks I would have no way of targeting it. If you allow me access to your cross-dimensional capabilities, I can refine the targeting a bit at a time by exploring the edges of the space that you are not capable of reaching. With the right math, I can use those blanks to feel out the edges of the restricted space and make a good estimation of the coordinates of our friend's home dimension."

"And you think that could be done on a reasonable timeline? I know that there are a lot of dimensions out there. Even just what we have access to numbers in the dozens of exponents."

I nodded. "Yes. While the math I have done so far indicates that it could be any of a googol dimensions, I hope to narrow it down by at least an order of magnitude per week. It could potentially take two years at that rate, but it's at least a timetable that we can work with. Besides, it's a lot better than the backup plan."

Legend's gaze sharpened. He had been reaching for his coffee cup, nodding along, but now he had both hands on his knees, leaning forward. "You have a backup plan as well?"

I answered, somewhat reluctantly. "Yes. While it is certainly the most _acute_ threat to Earth, our alien friend is not the worst entity out there. Not by a long shot. My _backup plan_ is to hook our local problem up to one of those other entities with the most massively parallel connection I can manage to make. I would need to learn more about their communications protocols, but it's certainly doable. So long as we could trick, force, or otherwise con our local issue into connecting to the communications hub I could build, I estimate a greater than eighty percent chance that it would totally lobotomize it. Of course, that last, uncertain twenty percent makes me more than a little bit reluctant to rely on that plan."

Legend visibly restrained himself from asking too many questions about that idea, settling for the practicalities. "How long would this… communications hub take to make?"

"At least three weeks, but not more than a month and a half to get the basics done. I could always expand it from there, of course."

"So we could have that done, and still work on the other plan as our primary? Good. Good. I am as reluctant to rely on it as you, but it would be nice if we had at least one backup."

The pause between us grew. For most people, it would be uncomfortable, but I was largely beyond the ability to get annoyed by a conversation these days. May as well wait it out and see what Legend was evidently nervous to bring up.

After another drink of coffee he finally spoke. "Is there anything I can do for you, Hive? I may not agree with their actions at all, but I still feel the burden of what my teammates did to you."

I thought about it for a minute, mulling the problem over from various angles. "The funny thing is, there's not actually much that I need, I'm in a pretty good place right now, despite the setbacks. Mostly I would like some external resources for helping the people of Canberra. Supply wise, we're actually fine, but if you've got access to any researchers that can be discreet that specialize in Master effects, it would be nice to confirm my working hypothesis that my precog immunity is slowly defusing the Simurgh bombs here. It would be good to be able to help what remains of some of the other containment zones."

Legend was smiling at my requests, but I had one more request to add that would probably please him less.

"Oh, and I would like your subtle assistance in pointing the blame squarely where it belongs for the Birdcage debacle. I have been preparing for the release of my phone call with the chief director for some time, and if I had your help, we could ensure that the guilty parties no longer continue to get away with it."

His smile fell. "Ah."

He sighed and leaned back to look at the ceiling. "I suppose that is fair. Are you sure that is for the best though? As much as I disagree with their actions, you must admit that the current system at least works."

"To a degree, yes, but I've got an Accord crafted plan for retribution against those who wronged me, and if we mention your inclusion, I'm sure he'd be willing to extend his services to update the plan to include as smooth a transition as possible. Knowing Accord, it is a virtual certainty that we'll end up with a system that works better than the one we've got right now. What do you say?"

I held one of my right hands up to shake. It was largely symbolic, but I got the feeling that Legend was the sort of man that stood by his word.

After a brief pause, he extended his hand to shake mine. "It's a deal. I'll try to get you some subtle assistance with what experts I know in the relevant fields of study to help confirm your affect on the Simurgh victims. And… You've also got my assistance in placing the blame where it belongs. Dammit. I told them that their attitude would come back to bite them. At least it's with someone who cares about the collateral damage."

Legend then pressed his palm against his left sleeve and a few subtle dots illuminated to indicate the time. "It has been productive talking with you Hive. I'd best be headed back to the cleanup from the Leviathan fight, before people wonder too much where I've been. I'll be in touch."

I quickly scribbled down some addresses on a spare scrap of paper, before handing it to him. "Here. Feel free to contact me through any of these channels online, I'm certain of their security."

[You're going to make me blush you know.]

{Oh, be quiet. You are the best at online security and you know it. You don't need me to remind you of that fact.}

Once I led him out of the building, Legend nodded to me once more, before rocketing off into the sky. I managed to track him to several thousand feet before he was lost in the atmospheric haze.

With that done, I turned my primary attention to Professor Haywire's math. I knew it was possible to transmit matter between dimensions, but now I had an even stronger impetus for getting the portals working.

Hmm. Perhaps if I cross referenced the math that the Greater Hivemind used to teleport small units between nearby known nodes within the same universe, I could look for similarities...


	64. 9-7

9.7

o0O0o0O0o

Elliot Gordon was carefully making his way around the perimeter of the massive corpse left behind from the fight a few hours previous, mindful of the rubble from the broken buildings and the still slick streets. Even in good steel toed safety boots, it was easy to twist an ankle on ground like this. All around him was the din of serious machinery.

It was an odd situation really. After the firefighters had done a preliminary search, and Armsmaster himself had come by and done something with some prototype gadget to confirm that there weren't any more trapped survivors in the rubble, the work crews had started appearing like ants swarming the body of dead rat.

That was the thing though. The work crews weren't all part of the same department, or even the same organization, they were just the guys they had on hand that were willing to work.

Elliot recognized men from at least three different road crews, working alongside some of the public works engineers and some local construction workers. They had been provisionally cleared by their local CDC folks to work on the titanic corpse with anything except cutting torches, and they had cobbled together enough equipment for everyone.

And here he was, a goddamn sanitation engineer, carrying a set of twelve inch cutting discs for one of the men doing the cutting.

Finally getting around to the far side of the leg, he called out to the man currently working on cutting through the armour at the base of the claw, ten feet up the leg.

"Hey Miller!"

No response, but it wasn't terribly surprising given the amount of noise around them. He knew better than to interrupt a man with a massive power tool though, so he waited until Miller noticed him, and set his tool down.

"Gordon?" His eyes traveled to the cutting discs that Elliot was carrying. "Oh! Good. You've got the discs for me."

Elliot nodded, speaking loudly to be heard over the noise still going on around them. "Yeah. So no luck with the cement discs?"

Miller shook his head. "They don't work for shit. They don't shatter or wear down on this armour if you watch the heat, but they just cut too goddamn slow, it just slides around without biting in."

Taking a tool off his belt, he started taking the cement disc off to change it out.

"I'll let the other crews know."

"They had any luck with the hydraulics once we're past the armour?"

It went without saying that the powerful hydraulic shears mounted to the two excavators they had managed to source from a local construction site didn't work on the armour. They had both seen the mangled tool that was the end result of that experiment.

Handing one of the abrasive cut off discs over, Elliot responded. "Yeah. It's slow going, but they can manage. Won't do anything to the bones of course, but it means we can probably get done within a week."

Accepting the new disk and starting to affix it, Miller nodded and looked around for a moment. "The suits still arguing over who gets what?"

He got a groan in response. "Don't remind me. Three letter agencies are coming out of the woodwork trying to stick their oar in. If it were up to them, we wouldn't be able to do anything for a month. I think we're up to seven or eight now that are trying to claim jurisdiction, and that's just for this one-" the sanitation engineer gestured vaguely to the corpse of Hive's Titan. "Leviathan is even worse. We can't even cut the bastard up with any of our tools, and it's too heavy for any machine that would fit down the streets to move. If they don't come up with some Tinker bullshit, we're gonna have to pave it over or something, maybe just permanently close the street and route traffic around the new block."

Miller was finally finished affixing the new disk, and gestured to set the rest on a ruined car hood. Just as he was about to get back to cutting, he turned back to Elliot.

"Hell of a thing though. Leviathan fucking dead. Hard to believe."

o0O0o

"Catherine, they want you over in meeting room three."

"Right away." She hurriedly stuffed what notes she had accumulated on Leviathan into the manila folder and hurried for the stairs. They hadn't restored the elevators to operation again yet, but they did have running power in the building now at least.

She still got the drudgework of research assignments for new stories, but at least they were putting her on the real stories now. She didn't want to turn into one of those dried up makeup saleswomen that so many other former weather ladies turned into when their looks started to go. Hence the reason why she now took the stairs two at a time up to the third floor. One does not dally when one is called from upstairs.

After taking a second to straighten down her hair from the rush upstairs, Cathy stepped into the room.

"You asked for me, sir?" Call it brown-nosing if you want, but she directed her question to the head of their local branch, Ralph Chambers. He was a fifty something man that had held onto his primetime anchor looks as he aged and climbed the ever competitive hierarchy of newscasting. She knew it might not have been Ralph that had called for her, but it never hurt to bias the conversation in the direction you wanted people to think.

He looked up from a laptop at her voice before nodding. "Sullivan? Yes. You're being pulled off the Leviathan story-"

Cathy's face didn't show any of the sudden ice that she felt in her veins. This was either very good, or extremely bad.

"Put whoever you want on it to replace you. We've got something bigger that just got dropped in our laps. You're still keeping on top of all the Hive news since that first interview, I trust?" It wasn't phrased as a question.

"Of course. I have some of my notes right here." She held up the manila folder with her research into the Leviathan fight. Ever since her first lucky break with catching Hive on the street, the local branch of Channel Four News had largely left the 'Hive' stories to her, and she'd become as much of an expert as she could to keep that position.

"Good. Listen to this clip and tell me what you think." With that, he leaned forward and pressed a button on the laptop.

"Hi, Chief Director? This is Hive of the Protectorate East North-East region-"

Ralph watched her face as she listened to the clip. This was damning. Beyond damning really, it was career ending. For the Chief Director, Alexandria, and Eidolon.

When the clip finished, Cathy thought hard. She couldn't make a fool of herself here. "This directly implicates key players in a conspiracy between the PRT and the Protectorate. There's no way they can hang onto their positions after we release this."

With a glint in his eye, Ralph nodded. Evidently she had passed. "There's more to it. We've been provided proof that the Chief Director is one and the same person as Alexandria. We're tracking the authenticity of it right now, but it looks clean. I've been handed down orders from head office. Someone has watched your stuff and decided that they like the symmetry of having the first person to give an interview to Hive, break the story about her set up. I'll be frank. I don't think you're ready for it-"

He held up a hand as she started to speak up.

" _But_ , I'm willing to give you this chance. Pull whoever you need for this, but it has to be done in the next six hours. That's the longest I'm willing to sit on this, since I _know_ we weren't the only news agency to get this. This is now priority number one until the story goes live."

"Understood sir."

o0O0o

"-and another."

Pause.

"Twelve more in the same direction."

Pause.

"One thousand two hundred and three in the same direction."

Pause. A nod.

"We've found another edge? Please confirm."

Another nod.

"Okay, pick a new direction. From the top."

Legend and I had worked out a system. It was cumbersome, but methodical, and it worked. The pair of parahumans that they relied on for traversing dimensions couldn't actually perceive me, so even if we wanted, he couldn't grant me access to them directly.

Instead, he stood next to me, with a portal open next to him that opened to the room with the portal pair, named Doormaker and Clairvoyant. We were in _my_ Canberra, and I was giving Legend instructions, which he then passed one at a time to Doormaker and Clairvoyant.

The lag time between instructions wasn't as bad as it seemed, since it took time to open the portals, and it also took time to do the math regarding which direction to try next.

In a very real sense, we were groping in the dark, trying to find the shape of the walls that contained us. Except we couldn't tell what direction we were moving in, and we were moving in more than three dimensions.

An _unknown number_ of dimensions, higher than three.

I had narrowed it down to definitely more than nine dimensions, and _probably_ less than seventy.

In other words it was slow going. We _were going though_ , and that was important.

We were working on the problem as Legend had time, since he didn't have anyone he could trust to do it for him.

At first, our limiting factor was how much free time Legend had, but that had become less of an issue lately.

"Another edge? Good. Go ahead and take a break."

Legend cracked his back as he stood up from his office chair in the community center in Canberra. Originally it had just been the office I led him to because it was convenient and it wasn't in use, but it had become his office in a very real sense.

"I don't know about you, but I could use some food."

"This body hasn't eaten in a while, so I think I'll join you." I grinned at him. It had only been a week since he had come to me, but already we were forming a camaraderie that I appreciated. There was something refreshing about the way he threw himself into what he believed in.

As we walked towards the cafeteria, several people nodded to Legend, and he nodded right back, even calling out a few names in greeting. As we stood in the short line to grab food, he turned to me. "One of these days, I'm going to just move here, you know. It would save on the commute."

"Very funny, Legend. You teleport here."

"For the neighbourhood then. These folks would make much better neighbours than my current set." He said it like a joke, but there was sadness in his eyes when he said it. I estimated it would be another month before his 'joke' was more practice than theory.

"Hamburger and a chef's special please." Legend requested.

I don't know who started it, but 'chef's special' had become the shorthand for whatever experimental new food I was trying out for the week. Last week it was bacon flavoured lettuce, this week it was a hearty apple with the flavour of watermelon. The residents seemed to like the variety.

When we sat down, I turned to him. "Seriously though. How are you holding up?"

He sighed and set his head down on the table. "As well as can be expected I suppose. I don't mind losing my position. I was accomplishing less and less these days anyway. What really gets to me is how Rebecca and David can just write off the entire world, you know?"

I nodded. The public hadn't taken it well when Alexandria and Eidolon had escaped justice by disappearing without a trace. The current popular theory was that Eidolon had used a power to permanently alter their appearances, but the reality was that they just left for another Earth when their misdeeds came to light on this one. "Are they still trying to get you to go with them?"

"No."

"Oh." There wasn't a whole lot to say in response to that. The fact that they weren't even really trying to keep in touch with their former teammate spoke volumes.

Legend finally picked his head up off the table and took an angry bite of his 'apple' only to slow down and just chew for a minute.

"I like this one. You should add it to the keeper list." I nodded.

"At first I thought that they didn't think they could continue to help from behind bars, but I don't think that's it any more. When they realized that their control over Earth Bet was slipping, it's like they stopped even caring about what happened to it. They have an endless list of justifications like `it's not an efficient use of our time any more', but I've known them long enough to know they're bullshitting. The sad thing is, they've been lying for so long, I think they've started to believe their own lies."

I was slowly eating my own lunch as Legend got it off his chest, but it looked like he was about done for now. "So they've just washed their hands of it?"

He just nodded, with a far off look on his face.

"Want me to smack some sense into them?" I asked, only half jokingly.

To his credit, Legend thought about it for a minute while he chewed. "Nah. Let them run off and be miserable elsewhere. I'll want to stop their experiments eventually, but without Bet's resources, they've been set back a few years anyway. It's not like their plans are ever actually going to work."

We both ate in silence for a while as we thought things over. I had gotten in the habit of partially disconnecting any body that was holding a conversation with someone from the rest of my network. It forced me to pay attention to the other person in a way that was difficult to do when I was so much _bigger_. While it would take years to retrieve and organize one hundred percent of what I had lost in that disastrous contact with the greater hive mind, I had already mostly recovered, and was already compensating for the pieces that were still missing.

I was still going to retrieve those missing pieces, if only because I hated leaving a job half finished, but it wasn't critical to my useful operational capacity any more.

"Ready to get back at it?"

Legend looked at the stem that was all that remained of the new fruit, before nodding to me. "Yeah. Let me just grab some of these for Doormaker and Clairvoyant. They seem to appreciate the variety as much as I do."

Once he had grabbed a pair of the 'apples', we started the trek back towards his office.

"How goes the backup plan?" Legend looked over at me.

I wobbled a hand back and forth. "Not bad. I have the groundwork laid already, but it will take another two or three weeks to be operational. After that, it will just be time spent improving it with better bandwidth, and a slightly better chance of working. Pretty hefty diminishing returns though."

"And the portals?"

"Not as good as I had hoped, but better than I had feared. I've managed to _form_ a connection, but it's not even big enough to pass a decent sized molecule through, and it doesn't stay stable long enough to do so anyway. Even once we have it at operational size though, it's going to be bouncing all over the place, since we don't have an anchor on the other end. Not really a problem for us, but it does mean we can't target anything smaller than a planet. I'll probably have it down to a continent size in a month, and a country in two. Again, diminishing returns bite us. I'll keep working at it and let you know if anything changes."

As we stepped back into his office and he shut the door, Legend asked me one last question. "So, in theory, we could be ready in a month?"

I winced. " _Technically_ yes. The hard part will be the targeting. We're still a long way off from locating his home dimension, and without that, we're kinda screwed. I really hope it doesn't come to that, because the only thing we can do before we have that information is rely on him opening the way himself, or connecting to the backup plan of his own accord."

Legend gave me a reassuring smile. He was good at those. "I'm sure it will work out. We've got a good plan, and steady progress. We just need to wait it out."


	65. 10-1 PHO Interlude

10.1 PHO Interlude  
o0O0o0O0o

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Topic: Weekly Watcher Worldwide News Recap  
In: Boards ► News

Watcher (Original Poster) (Running Joke)  
Posted on May 15, 2011:

So since you folks seem to like my recaps, I'll keep doing them.

Week of May 15 to May 21, 2011

*update  
You've probably seen the banner at the top of the page, but we have confirmation, Leviathan is attacking. I'll update as I learn more info.

*2nd update  
It's on the East Coast. I'm getting conflicting reports of Boston or Brockton Bay, but it's probably one of those.

*3rd update  
Brockton Bay for sure. Got confirmation from some of the boots on the ground. Stay safe folks, get to the shelters.

*4th update  
Never going to believe your eyes, but it's easier than believing someone's words. Getting images of agiant monster fighting Leviathan. I don't want to bias the conversation, so I'm not going to say what the monster looks like, but it looks familiar, if you catch my drift.

*5th update  
Um. Leviathan is dead. Like for realzies, have pics to back it up, confirmation from legit sources, dead. I don't know about you, but I'm going to go get plastered in celebration. My favorite cousin was in Newfoundland on a business trip, and I'm sure we've all got stories like that.

I'm logging off for now. Try not to get my thread locked by the mods while I'm gone.

(Showing Page 17 of 19)

► Tin_Mother (Moderator)  
Replied on May 15, 2011:  
It's Confirmed. My friend at the PRT let me know, and I'm passing it on to you, Leviathan is dead. Now you can stop arguing about who's lying and/or making stuff up.

► Chrono Counter (Clock Watcher)  
Replied on May 15, 2011:  
So, uh. I'll be the first to say it. That's obviously Hive's creature from the color and the shape. Remind me why we threw her in superprison again?

'Cause I'm just saying, if she can pull stuff like that and kill an Endbringer from prison imagine what she could do if she was given proper resources.

Oh, and does anyone know if the local heroes survived?

► Trauma Twinkie (Veteran Member)  
Replied on May 15, 2011:  
Chrono Counter Dude, did you not see the previous two pages where people have been discussing that? Welcome to the conversation though, I guess.

► Rynoh  
Replied on May 15, 2011:  
Anyone taking bets on when she started making that? I'm thinking she's been active a lot longer than she let on, and made the (sensible) decision to hide it from the PRT.

► Fan Male  
Replied on May 15, 2011:  
LEVIATHAN'S DEAD BICHES!

► Sensify  
Replied on May 15, 2011:  
Fan Male  
a) please don't yell  
b) you spelled bitches wrong

► FireGreed (Flame bait)  
Replied on May 15, 2011:  
Does anyone else get a headache watching the video of that beam weapon? I dunno what it is, but it makes my eyes itch.

► Fe Wood  
Replied on May 15, 2011:  
Just had a thought.  
-Hive just killed an Endbringer.  
-Hive is currently in the Birdcage  
-The Fallen worship the Endbringers  
-The Fallen are not currently in the Birdcage

You think some of the Fallen are going to turn themselves in to try to get at Hive? That would be a funny way of capturing someone.

► NOMINATOR  
Replied on May 15, 2011:  
Faaaaaaaaaaaaaake

► HelpMeI'mStuckInTheInternet  
Replied on May 15, 2011:  
The PRT better find a way to get Hive out of the Birdcage in the Next three months. She's the only one we know of that can kill an endbringer, and her endbringer killing weapons were mostly destroyed killing Leviathan.

She could obviously make more of them (since she had three)...

If she weren't in the Birdcage.

► JoeNuts  
Replied on May 15, 2011:  
I'm sure the PRT will figure out how to reverse engineer her weapon to take on the other Endbringers. No need to open up the Birdcage.

► Lemmony Lime esq.  
Replied on May 15, 2011:  
JoeNuts Wow. Payed shill much?  
Either that or you are the most delusionally optimistic naive little muppet I've ever seen.

There's no way the PRT can survive being an irrelevance at an Endbringer fight.

No, that's not fair. Not an irrelevance. An impediment.

► catch line  
Replied on May 15, 2011:  
I've started a petition to get Hive out of the Birdcage here. If we get enough people to sign it I'm sure we can make it happen.

► Sergeant Obvious (professional party pooper)  
Replied on May 15, 2011:  
catch line. You do know those things never work right?

If you really want results, you need lobbyists (i.e. money)

► foxhole  
Replied on May 15, 2011:  
I slept in today and I wake up to THIS?! I should sleep in more often.

► numberphill  
Replied on May 15, 2011:  
The video doesn't do it justice. I was in one of the shelters, and I could still hear Hive's monster yell "Get out of my city" at leviathan. It was pants shittingly terrifying, but also kind of reassuring, you know?

► borderline  
Replied on May 15, 2011:  
Dude. Have you seen the updat pics? Yeah hives stuff got mangled but levi is missing his head. And like his whole chest. Watevs that weapon was it didnt even slow DOWN what it hit levi.

► JumboJacked  
Replied on May 15, 2011:  
borderline Learn to type man. Or better yet learn some English.

Just so that I'm not posting a post that only contains a complaint:

I tried analyzing the video of that beam weapon, since the color was so odd. After corrupting the file twice, and getting garbage data after that, I gave up.

Whatever it is, it's some weird stuff I tell you.

End of Page. 1, 2, 3 ... 15, 16, 17, 18, 19

o0O0o

(Showing Page 95 of 100)

► Watcher (Original Poster) (Running Joke)  
Replied on May 21, 2011:  
Week of May 15 to May 21, 2011 (for real this time)

Man. What a week. After some sober reflection (read: my hangover's finally worn off) have the news headlines from around the world (but mostly the US)

-Leviathan's Dead!  
Let's get that one out of the way. Yes, for real, yes we're sure, if you didn't already know this, you live under a rock, at the bottom of a mine shaft.

-Hive Killed Him!  
From what we can gather, the Titan (as people have named him, may he rest in peace), and the Magi (Hive's name for them, see here) were left behind in Brockton Bay to help protect the city in the event of an emergency (like Leviathan). Yes she can build more. No she can not build more while in the Birdcage.

-Alexandria Exposed! Eidolon Implicated!  
The sham trial of the decade just became even shammier. You've probably already heard "the call" (see here if you haven't), but HiveGate is real folks. We have proof positive that Alexandria mangled the justice system to get her and Eidolon's misdeeds covered up. Alexandria and Eidolon are both MIA, presumed fleeing from justice. Legend resigned his post (rather than being forced out) in recognition of the fact that people no longer trust the Triumvirate.

-PRT Authority Slashed  
It's always bugged some people that the PRT immediately got total jurisdiction the instant the word 'parahuman' got dropped, but not anymore. If the bill that's blazing it's way through the courts passes, most of their authority will be stripped and handed off to other agencies like local law enforcement and the FBI. They are now only responsible for helping the parahumans that come to them for employment and guidance with parahuman related legal issues.

-Hive Gets a Presidential Pardon  
In light of all the new evidence of Hive's innocence the president himself signed a pardon for Hive just yesterday. Now we just have to find a way to get her out of the Birdcage.

-Slaughterhouse Nine Down to One Member!  
It seems that Jack Slash's ability to dance between the raindrops has finally come to an end. At the cost of the population of Waco Texas, the Slaughterhouse Nine is finally dead. From what details we have been able to gather, most of the members were brought down by unpowered civilians with ordinary guns, once they released their "challenge" to the city. Crawler survives, but is permanently immobilized, not by his wounds, but by his healing. An invisible cape attacked him one day after he fled the depopulated city, leaving wounds that would not close. In response, his healing filled the space with flesh, only to be attacked again. This continued until he was the lump of flesh seen here. The CDC had called for a permanent quarantine of the city to prevent the possible spread of the pathogen that wiped out the population.

-South American Government Finally Falls  
Seven more Brazilian government officials were found dead this previous week, and the Brazilian president (in hiding in an undisclosed location) declared the government to be abolished. While he technically does not have the power to abolish the state, those with the theoretical power to do so are already dead, and none have disputed his claim thus far. This represents the fall of the last of the formally recognized countries of South America, as regional warlords seem content to turn South America into the next Africa.

Summary: Some bad (that we could see coming), some good (that we did not). Overall rating for the week: 8/10

As usual, discuss below.

► Hamminator  
Replied on May 21, 2011:  
Did any of you see the PRT press release in response to the news of the corruption in the upper ranks? Never seen so many "regrettable lapse of", "an unfortunate case of", "indefensible actions of the former", and "be rectified in the following".

The doublespeak is real.

Kind of impressive tho.

► Felexcity (Cape Wife)  
Replied on May 21, 2011:  
I'm just glad they're losing some of their authority. My husband has one of those 'PR unfriendly' powers, and we've been toeing the line for years, dreading the day the PRT smashes down our door.

Cops might not be perfect, but at least you can ask for a badge number without getting containment foamed.

► mayflyaway  
Replied on May 21, 2011:  
I keep thinking "What about the Endbringer fights though" and then I remember that Hive just got pardoned, and she's already killed one of them.

So good riddance I say.

► phobiphobia  
Replied on May 21, 2011:  
Shame about Brazil. I was holding out hope that South America would recover, but it doesn't look like it.

► Quarkitect  
Replied on May 21, 2011:  
mayflyaway You say that, but she's not the first person in the Birdcage to be proven innocent. I get that they have a lot more motivation to actually get her out now, I'm just saying it might take a lot longer than some people think to actually accomplish it.

► TalkasaurisRex  
Replied on May 21, 2011:  
Do we have any more info on how the Siberian got taken out? There's no way she died to normal guns.

► crispy bacon  
Replied on May 21, 2011:  
She probably just had an Achilles heel or something. Like I dunno, maybe no one had ever shot her in the left butt cheek before.

► Pink Sunset  
Replied on May 21, 2011:  
We'll probably never know at this point, since the whole city's on permanent lockdown. Did you see that they're going to just cover the Crawler Lump (TM) in concrete? My cousin works with the nuclear reactor breach teams in the US (thanks for that job title even existing, Behemoth), he says that they're basically just going to treat Crawler as a cracked Nuclear core and just bury the hole area in cement.

It kind of makes sense too. Still dangerous, don't really know how to make it permanently go away, have to seal it up.

I'm not surprised that someone made the call to the kind folks in fluorescent orange radiation gear.

► Mohawk-man  
Replied on May 21, 2011:  
So they caught Eidolon and Alexandria (and by extension, the chief director), but I want to know how many other Piggot's were in on the same conspiracy. Do we even have anyone performing an investigation into that?

End of Page. 1, 2, 3 ... 93, 94, 95, 96, 97, 98, 99, 100


	66. 10-2

10.2

o0O0o0O0o

Chris looked up from his current tinkering when he received a tap on his shoulder.

"Hey Connie. I didn't ignore you too long this time, right?" He asked his new employee. And wasn't that a strange thought. He actually had an employee now.

His fellow highschool student had been one of the first to apply for the position when he had posted the ad for someone to work the front counter, and she ended up being the one to get the position.

She waved off his concern. "Nah, you're getting better about that. Just wanted to let you know that we've got another sound system to repair. Want me to bring it in now?"

When he nodded, she left to get it, and Chris started clearing enough space on the workbench to work. It had only been about a week and a half that "Kid Win's Appliance and Small Engine Repair" had actually been open for business, but already Chris could see what the forums meant when they said that the horror stories told by the PRT of operating as an independent were overblown.

Connie walked back in, carrying the bulky central tower from a combination sound system and set it on the counter, before looking to him for instruction.

"Umm… Right. Uh. Could you put the sign up front again, and then start taking the case off of this thing while I start running diagnostics?"

She nodded and set to work, as he picked out a modified multimeter from his tools.

While it wasn't "true" tinkering, fixing mundane electronics and small engines was easy enough with his power, and since it didn't bring him fully into the tinkering mental zone, he could actually follow Connie's dialogue as she worked. She tended to be a bit of a chatterbox, but he didn't mind, since she was pretty friendly, and had never been one of the ones that looked down on him in school as one of the uncool kids.

"When I mentioned the discount for bringing in other electronics, this guy said he would bring in his old unit when he came to pick this one up. Fifteen percent off for complex electronics like this that are still partially working, right?"

Chris gave an affirmative sound as he looked at the readout from his tools. Probably just another blown fuse.

"Right, so I mentioned that discount, and he seemed pretty interested. I think he was mostly doing this for the novelty of having his sound system fixed by a tinker, but I think the price tag with the discount surprised him. I wouldn't be surprised if we get another repeat customer. Oh, and I'm pretty sure this is the last screw, so the case should come off now?"

With a testing tug, the case did appear to be loose, so it was quickly set to the side to get a better look at the insides. It was looking like the fuse theory was confirmed, so Chris started hunting for a replacement in his spare parts tackle box.

"Hey, I don't think you've ever told me; how did you manage to get your parents to go for this anyway?"

Finding the right fuse and starting to install it, Chris figured it wouldn't hurt to answer. "My mom insisted actually. With the mess that went down with Hive she was already on the fence, but when I participated in an Endbringer fight, it was all downhill from there. I don't think she realized what she was signing when I was getting into the Wards. They're pretty good about emphasizing how dangerous it can be for independents without going into details about how dangerous it can be for the Wards too."

He shook his head. Clearing his mind of the memories that had been dredged up about Taylor. Best not to think about it too much.

"Huh. How'd you get everything set up so fast though? Didn't you only quit, like, last week?"

"Technically, yeah, but that's just 'cause the paperwork took time to clear. It's been in the works for like a month. Mind helping me test to see if this thing works now?"

When she nodded and started plugging things in, he continued talking. "My family has been real helpful. Turns out my uncle had this place and was looking to sell it. We had to clear out some of the crap from the previous shop that was renting from him, but he let me have it basically at cost. That, and I've got a few people at the PRT who I keep in touch with that were willing to help smooth over the paperwork. They're not all bad, it's just some of them that ruin things."

With a final click, the power came on for the sound system, and the speakers that they had temporarily hooked up started playing vaguely classical music.

"Looks like it works again. Let's get the case back on and we can call this one done."

o0O0o

"David, we're ready for another extension over here."

Eidolon drifted over towards Alexandria's voice, sifting through his powers as he floated. It took him a few tries, but he did find the power he was looking for; the ability to construct the seemingly endless and identical plain white hallways and rooms that made up Cauldron's bases. He didn't know why this ability specifically used so little power, but it didn't seem to noticeably grow weaker with repeated or extended use, unlike most of his other powers. A blessing, as they used it frequently when setting up a new extension to Cauldron's facilities. Not that they had actually done so in quite some time.

As he began the construction on the newly leveled ground, Eidolon mused that, in a way, they were back to their roots now. Only a few people, alone on an Earth without intelligent life on it, building things directly with their powers. It was him, Alexandria, Contessa, and Doctor Mother, alone on this planet, and it was a mix of peaceful, cathartic, and melancholy.

They still didn't know how Hive had managed to get into Cauldron's base recently, but they could tell that she had, since her unpathable nature had started affecting the whole base of operations. Alexandria, never one to shy away from the tough decisions, had used it as an excuse to abandon their work on Earth Bet, as well as many of the other worlds they had accessed previously. The ease with which she wrote off entire worlds was somewhat disquieting, but he knew it would be nearly impossible to change her mind now that she had decided her course.

He looked over at where she was flattening a rocky outcropping by way of simply flying through it repeatedly and absentmindedly switched one of his abilities to an acoustic translocation power. "Are you sure we need to abandon all the worlds we had interacted with previously? We had several resources that could make this go considerably faster after all."

She aborted her current pass and turned to face him. "Yes. We still don't know what vector she used to block out precognition in the places we were actively operating, but I'm not willing to take the chance that she could simply extend the effect to cover any of our previous resources at will. So far as we can tell, she still has no ability to travel between dimensions, so moving to new Earths that are previously unused should be sufficient protection from the effects, so long as we don't go back to trying to use previous resources."

After a small pause, she continued. "Besides, I had not realized quite to what extent our previous _peacekeeping_ operations had turned into a boat anchor around our necks, keeping us from the true goal of defeating Scion. This was a good opportunity to cut loose some of the dead weight that had built up in the decades since we started. I'm sure we will make more progress now that we have refocused our efforts."

Eidolon steadfastly pushed down the urge to use one of his powers to analyze Alexandria's words to see if she really was entirely truthful when she spoke. He honestly didn't want to know if she viewed Legend as part of that "dead weight".

Instead, he refocused his attention back on constructing a working base. While their powers may keep them mostly comfortable even in such an uninhabited place, there was no sense in skimping on the details.

o0O0o

It wasn't really black or white; grey was closer, but still didn't really describe it. It was like someone had sucked the light out of a colour, but not given time for the darkness to seep in after it yet.

It was… Peaceful. With a muddled sort of almost buzzy almost sound in the background.

Once in awhile Doormaker could just make out what were probably people making their way through the area that they were watching, in the middle of Canberra. Most of the time, these days at least, Doormaker was happy that neither him or Clairvoyant could sleep.

When those that they watched were busy with other things, or asleep, it was nice to be able to just do nothing for a while. Clairvoyant was mentally stuck at childhood, so many would assume that when the two of them had free time, they watched cartoons. And they did, or at least, they used to. The problem was that they watched _all_ the cartoons. All of them. Seeing everything, everywhere, all the time. Even children could get sick of sweets if that was all you fed them.

But these days, they had something better. They watched Hive. Clairvoyant shifted the viewpoint around so they were mostly looking at the sky, from the ground somewhere in Canberra.

Now there was a slight almost blue tinge to the nothingness. A slightly different almost sound to go with it. Almost a rumble this time, if he had to put it into words. Maybe someone was building something new? They didn't know, and the sheer novelty of that was worth more than any amount of money.

So far as Doormaker could tell, the almost sight corresponded with what was happening right there, right then, like the sky being almost blue, because it was day. But the almost sound was more interesting. It was something to do with what was _being done_. A busy but productive day sounded different than when the people were just as busy, but worried, like when Legend first showed up. Similar things were going on, but it was being _done_ differently.

Clairvoyant probably just liked the quiet, but Doormaker was interested in how the quiet worked.

Ah. Legend was calling them.

Their viewpoint expanded and unfolded in directions that they didn't have names for. Yet. They were working on that though.

Doormaker opened a portal in front of Legend that linked through to his office in Canberra. Or at least to where he said it was. They couldn't actually see it clear enough to tell, but at least they could put it in the same place as last time.

As the portal opened, colour bled into the void just a bit. The room a least was vaguely visible, and the hallway beyond it was a suggestion of a rectangle. Things got even clearer as Doormaker closed the previous portal and opened a new one to where he and Clairvoyant were sitting. Still more difficult to see than normal, but probably almost on par with what a normal person could see if they stepped into the room. Legend was more blurry, but still distinguishable as a human shaped blob.

The door opened and closed. Hive was here then.

One of the things that interested Doormaker the most was the fact that even knowing she was in the room, he couldn't tell where she was. Not even by looking for a harder to see spot in the room. The entire room was uniformly hard to see; a product of her network density in the area, and the addition of a single body didn't impact it enough to even be able to tell where it was in relation to Legend.

Legend was speaking to her, but Doormaker couldn't hear any of the responses. He would have been able to if Clairvoyant wasn't overriding his senses with his power, but ears didn't help with power granted sound perception.

After a minute or two, Legend walked through the portal to where Doormaker and Clairvoyant were sitting, coming into sharper focus as he walked away from the room on the other side of the portal. On this side of the portal, Doormaker could see that he was carrying something, and when he was right next to them, he could tell that it looked like a bowl full of grapes.

Goody! More experimental alien food!

"Hive said that these ones were an attempt at making a varied dessert food. Every grape has a different flavour of chocolate."

With the hand not touching Clairvoyant, Doormaker accepted the bowl and nodded to Legend. It was probably going to be one of the longer sessions today then. Hive usually brought snacks when it was going to be more than an hour.

Clairvoyant excitedly popped a handful of grapes in his mouth immediately, to Doormaker's amusement. There would be enough here for both of them, but he didn't mind giving Clairvoyant first dibs. It's not like they could actually tell what flavours the things were ahead of time anyway.

Once Legend got seated back in his office, Doormaker settled in for their usual routine.

"Today, we're going to double check that the boundaries that we've found previously have stayed stationary relative to this universe, before verifying that we at least have the number of dimensions correct. We're pretty sure we have both aspects nailed down, but it would mean a lot of backtracking if we didn't check our work and we proved to be wrong. We'll start with the normal exercises to get you oriented, before moving on to checking the boundaries. Let me know if what you find is different to what I call out."

At Doormaker's nod, Legend started listing out coordinates. It was still pretty rough, but they at least had the language to refer to what directions the different dimensions were in now. Relative to each other at any rate. They still had to pick them out every time they wanted to work on them, since they didn't have a stable reference frame to refer to everything yet.

After marking out a circle of known dimensions along every axis, practically second nature by this point, they started feeling out the boundaries. This was the part they had to pay close attention to.

"Okay. Next edge should be two hundred seventeen thousand, four hundred and twelve further along the same dimension. Confirm?"

Doormaker placed a portal at the designated place and felt with his power. If he hadn't known what to look for, he would have missed it, but there was _something_ there. Not quite physical, but still a barrier. It was more like looking at a ledge and knowing that you wouldn't be able to jump high enough to grab it. It wasn't _noticeable_ or _obvious_ , but it was… a gut feeling. Something so basic that you didn't even stop to consider why you would be trying to jump for the ledge in the first place, since you knew at some level that you couldn't make it there.

He nodded. This one was confirmed. One down, many to go.


	67. 10-3 Scion Interlude

10.3 Scion Interlude

o0O0o0O0o

The entity is drifting, barely paying attention to the world as it puts out a forest fire when it notices the pattern.

Most of the subtle information gathering and processing had been the purview of the counterpart, but the Warrior had always specialized in spotting attacks.

Some of the host species are opening brief connections between dimensions. By itself, not a problem, but they are testing the boundaries of the restricted values, slowly getting closer to the centre of the entity's core processes.

This is restricted.

If they would not finish the search before the cycle is scheduled to finish anyway, then the entity will ignore the action as not worth spending energy on.

The entity burns one tenth of a solar rotation's worth of energy on a precognition shard to find out how long it will take them to get any meaningful results.

The precognition shard returns an unknown error. The emulation shard produces a strong spike of emotion. There is a 0.0002% chance of that occurance on this timescale.

The entity spends one quarter of a solar rotation's worth of energy on performing an exhaustive search with the same shard.

The shard returns an error again, but this time it is not unknown.

Error due to interference of unquantifiable variable 3208.

Over the cycles, many of the previously unquantifiable variables have been isolated and solved for, but 3208 has eluded the entity's species since its classification.

It is only significantly disruptive to predictions on very long timescales in space, but it is part of the reason that predictions of a host species are minimized on anything other than the short term, as they get increasingly inaccurate over time.

It has eluded analysis partially because the variable itself seems to be an emergent property of the host species interactions, and does not show up on finite predictive analysis at all.

Until now.

The entity's host emulation shard begins to feel hope for the first time.

Unquantifiable variable 3208 is a longstanding problem with the predictive model of the universe. If the entity can isolate it, perhaps others of the entity's species would be willing to expend the resources necessary to make the counterpart operational again in order to get a more complete model.

Most of the entity knew that the odds of the plan working were near statistical insignificance, but the host emulation shard provided a direction to pursue other than aimlessly floating around the host planet until it ran out of energy.

Attack long forgotten, the entity starts to burn energy. With little of the usual caution for conservation, it fires off many of the precognitive powers that it retained for this cycle.

Every one that returns expected variables is ignored, and some return no data at all due to excessive interference, but some return _partial_ or _inconclusive_ data. Enough to extrapolate and refine for the next round of tests.

Slowly, slowly, the concept space of the variable shrinks. Still incalculably expensive to brute force a proper analysis, but the avenues of narrowing down the possibilities slowly become more defined.

First, it is isolated to a handful of realities, including the one containing its host emulation projection. The entity tries using one of the most expensive predictive shards to fully map out the future of those realities in every detail to a length of ten solar rotations, but it returns gibberish data as a result.

Far from being dissuaded, the entity starts to section the world, before performing analysis on each part in turn.

To efficiently section the world by relative computational cost to predict any given area, the entity uses regions gathered by the emulation shard to describe the world.

Some areas produce variance within the normal levels, such as all the regions in Europe, and some have levels of interference so high that further analysis does not return useful data, such as Eastern Australia and the Eastern US.

The entity decides to follow the trail of the greatest comprehensible interference, and narrows the source down to a mountain in British Columbia, Canada. The unusually high concentration of shard bonded hosts draws the entity's attention.

With no further refining possible from afar, the entity instantaneously traverses the distance to the mountain range and it's avatar floats in the sky above the prison complex.

Once in place, the entity begins to bring to bear its many sensory powers, trained on the space below.

From electromagnetic, seismic, gravitic, and dimensional instability to near future sub-molecular deterministic prediction and quantum fluctuations. Every sense is brought online. Then the entity starts to influence things to see what changes. A golden beam flashes out and strikes the mountain, evaporating some trees and several cubic meters of dirt. There are definite fluctuations in the predictive shards as a result of that attack. Good.

After a brief pause to think about the course of action that will allow for the best results, the entity fires again. There are enough areas of interference that destructively testing the first one until the interference stops is a valid use of the available resources. Senses trained on the mountain below, the entity can not possibly miss when a connection between dimensions opens up, and the level of interference drops noticeably.

The entity pauses for 0.23 seconds to consider the implications of that. It is useful data. The fact that the interference can react to the entity's presence and attacks means that it is likely tied to a member or members of the host species. Not unexpected, since unquantifiable variable 3208 is largely dependent on the presence of host species in the first place, but the sheer impact of the effect in this case is anomalous. The entity decides to spend some time dissecting the host species in its entirety to determine what it is that separates them into members that can strongly produce the effect and those that only produce statistically insignificant levels of the effect.

First though, it needs a good baseline for a member that strongly produces the effect. Decision made, the entity drops the host emulation avatar from the world that it has occupied for several solar rotations and reappears on the world that the connection leads to.

As the entity spends nearly a full second forming its body, it takes in the world that the host member fled to. It contains life, but no other members of the host species. Useful for isolating the variable if nothing else. The anomalous member of the host species is likely on the North American continent, given the still open connection between worlds and a healthy margin of error added to an extrapolated value for how far the anomaly could have moved in the given time even with a random selection of bonded shards for movement to within 99.9% confidence.

With none of the usual fanfare, the entity simply activates a continent wide application of one of it's lesser Stasis powers. It will prevent anything living that is larger than an insect from moving under its own power until the effect is released. A trivial expenditure of energy, compared to what some of the precognition shards cost to run.

That done, the entity sections the continent and starts a differential scanning protocol to locate the anomaly. It takes nearly ten seconds to find a section that contains a difference between it's predictive model of the area and a light spectrum scan of the area. Right next to the connection between worlds, there is a member of the host species that does not show up on… many of the entities senses.

With a brief transition, the entity appears above the anomaly and begins an exhaustive scan. When it is done the current scan in 6.4 seconds, it will begin slowly dissecting the anomaly to see if it's reactions change any of the scan results.

Before the time is elapsed however, another connection opens directly beneath the anomaly, and it starts to fall through. The entity has plenty of time to stop it, but as it is producing interesting results, it decides to allow the anomaly to complete it's fall through to the other world. Interestingly, the world that the anomaly chose to flee to is the world where the counterpart crash landed. Perhaps that is where it picked up some of its powers? Certainly possible.

The entity doesn't even bother reforming its body on the new world, it simply moves it there directly.

!

The entity is surprised to find another entity/structure/shard there. It is not part of the counterpart, and yet, it is trying to interface with him using some of the counterparts internal codes. Has another (entity) found the counterpart's body and built this structure? Perhaps this is where the anomaly got its anomalous nature, seeing as the entire structure is invisible to the same powers as the anomaly.

With an idle application of the lesser Stasis power to prevent the anomaly from escaping again, the entity turns to the anomalous structure. After several seconds of examining it, the entity decides to dissect it to see if it reacts in similar ways to the anomaly.

With a thin golden beam, the entity starts to flay the outer casing from the structure, preserving as much as possible for later study. It is mostly complete when the entity notices a very faint prickle from the anomaly. It feels almost like a communication attempt from a member of their species, except many orders of magnitude weaker. Very odd.

Half reflexively, and half because of an aspect of the host emulation called curiosity, the entity completes the connection to the anomaly.

 _Exchange_?


	68. 10-4

10.4

o0O0o0O0o

"That looks good. Seems like the data we've derived so far is holding up. We're keeping pace with my more optimistic estimates of how long it would take to figure out a viable framework. Now we just need to zero in on the inner boundary." I was going over the data in my head as I was speaking to Legend, both of us relaxing in his office in Canberra as we finished up double checking our previous results.

"Good. Good." Legend was nodding along as I spoke. He couldn't follow the math that I used, but he could at least follow the experimental procedure we were using and help me error check it.

He looked thoughtful for a moment. "And your hope is that the other entity's core world will be at the center of the inner barrier?"

I nodded. "Yes. My hope is that the outer barrier is the effective maximum reach of the entity and the inner barrier represents the core world or worlds that the entity is most eager to prevent us from accessing. My current estimate is that it will take two to three weeks to feel out the exact higher dimensional shape of the inner barrier to a sufficient degree that I can pinpoint the world in the middle. Now, if they were smart, the actual core world wouldn't be placed at the centroid, or they would even place it outside the outer barrier. But from what I can tell from the relative position of the remnants of the degraded barrier that is probably from the counterpart entity, the most important world is in the middle."

Legend was widely grinning by the time I was finished. It must be nice to be making such solid progress after so long spinning his wheels. "And the status of the virus and the manual portal creation?"

I frowned minutely. "Not as good as I had hoped. I _can_ form a portal, and I _can_ get matter through it, but right now it strains me to get even a few grams through, and my targeting leaves much to be desired. I estimate that only a third of the payload would make it through the portal in a viable condition, due to the instability. Don't get me wrong, it would still be enough to destroy the amount of biological material present on the fleshworld you've shown me, but it would be much slower than my original estimates. I'm still improving, and I have plenty of the virus ready on the dead world you let me access, but I think that as of right now, it would only work against the entity if it could not respond to the attack. It's just not fast enough to deal with an enemy that can apply countermeasures."

Legends grin slowly faded as I spoke. "Ah. So our bottleneck will probably be your ability to form portals, until you get better at that. At least we _have_ a viable attack ready, even if it's not quite up to snuff yet."

He grimaced slightly. "I know you are hesitant to rely on it, but how is the backup plan progressing?"

I leaned back in the salvaged office chair and looked at the ceiling for a few seconds before responding. "On that front, it's pretty much as ready as I can make it. The relay is set up, and the coordinates are already plugged in. Everything is pretty much ready to go. The problem is that I just have no way of knowing if my understanding of the entity's communications protocols is sufficient to actually get it to connect to the relay. It might ignore it, or attack it, or not even notice it in the first place. We just have no way to know beforehand."

I drummed my fingers on the desk between us with one of the Myriad body's lower arms while we both thought it over.

Shaking my head, I turned back to Legend from where I had been absently staring into the hole in space that opened into the room where Doormaker and Clairvoyant were idly eating some of the grapes I provided for them. "Enough of that for now. Not much we can do about it. Let's start narrowing down the actual location of the bastard's core."

Legend also lost the far away look on his face at my comment. "Right. Let's. Doormaker! Clairvoyant! We're ready to start again. From the top. Let's verify that we're centered and then I'll start giving you coordinates to test."

Time to get to work.

o0O0o

While Legend and I were working slowly narrowing down the shape of the inner barrier, I was also idly contemplating the mathematics of inter-dimensional portals. It was an interesting problem. If you had to open the portal from one end, it was quite difficult to maintain the portal. I strongly suspected that Doormaker's power got around it by having a foot in the door at both ends so to speak, since the entire volume of hyperspace it could access was within the volume already accessed by the entity providing the power. It was a bit like carrying a tall stack of books over uneven ground that you couldn't see; when you had a stabilizing hand on top of the pile, it took much less focus to keep it from toppling.

I was idly musing on the accuracy of the analogy when I sensed… something. It caught my attention because, so far as I could tell, I had never actually _used_ the sense that had caught a blip. It was sort of like a blind person seeing a far off flash of light. Hard to put into words.

As I focused on the feeling that was _still there_ , I came to the conclusion that it was centered around my original body, sitting in my room at the Birdcage.

I only had a couple of seconds to process the feeling before I was interrupted.

[Taylor! Scion just appeared directly above the Birdcage. I'll give you the camera feed, but I think you've been detected.] The feelings coming from Dragon were understandably panicky. We were nowhere near ready to get Scion's interest. In fact, in an ideal world, we would never get his attention before he was dead.

I was just starting to speak to Legend about the attack through my Myriad body when Scion unleashed a golden blast of light at the mountainside that was above the Birdcage.

"Legend! We've got a serious problem. Scion just appeared above the Birdcage and attacked the mountain. I think we're spotted."

Through my original body, I could feel the faint tremors through the superstructure of the prison as Scion blasted at the mountain again. I needed to get out of here. Perhaps Scion would lose interest if I left this Earth. It was a bit of a long shot, but it had a non-zero chance of working considering what I had observed of Scion's behaviour.

"Legend, I need a portal to an uninhabited world, now. I'm going to see if we can lose him by shifting worlds."

As Legend started barking orders to Doormaker, my original body in the Birdcage got up and leaped through the forming portal to a world that had no humans in it. By now, my vast mind was fully focused on what was happening to my original body, and time crawled by as my perception of time was vastly stretched out.

I had built and discarded several plans already when I _feel_ Scion follow me to the new world. With the confirmation that he can definitely sense where I go, my options narrow considerably. My options drop even further as, barely a second after Scion followed me into the new world, my body locks in place and falls over like a dead tree. The fact that I can watch as a bird falls out of the air, and a squirrel falls out of a tree means that it is an indiscriminate effect. I don't know how large of an area it covers, but it will only be a matter of time before Scion finds me, since I have no doubt he can hold the effect indefinitely.

I have nearly ten seconds to go over plans and options in my head before Scion appears directly above me. I do not like how few options I have at this stage, but better to at least try to save my original body and use the backup plan now, than to lose the initiative now that we've been spotted.

Legend is taut as a bowstring, waiting for more information or orders. This was not going to plan at all.

I speak, in the tense silence between us. "I think we need to try for the backup plan. Open a portal to the relay beneath the previous portal's location, since my body is still there,"

Now comes the part that I don't like. "-then cut all portals. All of them. We can not afford for any one of us, or any part of me to come into contact with the relay when it goes off."

I know that this will isolate my original body, alone, on an alien planet, with the most powerful being on our world hostile and ready to attack me, but I don't have any choice if we are going to try to activate the relay to the Greater Hivemind. The relay is so robust and so massively parallel that there is no possibility of it burning out from the strain of the connection like last time. This connection will go until all the entities connected to it are either dead, or disconnected from it. And it is not easy to disconnect from this end, short of physical destruction of the relay itself.

When Legend is finished relaying the instructions, I say the final piece. "I'll try to trace him directly this time. Previously there was much too high a chance of discovery using that method, but we have nothing to lose this time. If I can locate his core world, I'll get the virus dumped there, one way or another."

With that, the portal opens beneath me and I am unceremoniously dumped on the fleshy ground next to the relay.

Then comes the unpleasant part. The portal closes and-

Fuck.

I'm alone now.

Crammed in a too small body for the thoughts flying around my head.

My mind is racing, but my thoughts feel glacial. I know that I am thinking faster than any human that doesn't have superpowers, but compared to my normal existence, I am alone, stupid, slow, and blind.

Even in my current state, I can feel when Scion appears. Many have described him as radiating a kind of sorrow that you can feel in your bones when you are around him. Right now, he radiates nothing but a cold, clinical interest. Like the feeling of an entomologist being bitten by a particularly interesting species of ant. Not threatened, not even angry, just aware of the fact that when it is done with its examination, it will crush the ant.

Absently, I notice that my body is locked in place as he turns to look at the relay. My hopes of a quick resolution are quickly sliding down the drain. If Scion were going to instinctively connect to the relay, he would have done so already. Even then, it's no guarantee that the experience would actually kill or lobotomize him. There's a reason I didn't want to rely on this plan.

Damn it, damn it, damn it.

Even the faint hope that he would connect once he was done his examination is crushed as he raises a hand and a pencil thin beam lashes out and starts stripping away flesh from the relay.

He's not even attacking it, he's just going to dissect it as I watch.

I feel around in my head for any last ditch plans or emergency powers.

I've got nothing.

While I might be able to contact the greater {Taylor} by boosting my synapse connection, I would stand to gain nothing by it, and stand to lose a great deal.

Even my burgeoning psychic powers won't be of any help here. I just don't have enough raw power in a single body to do anything other than form a weak mental connection with something. Nowhere near enough for a mental attack, let alone a warp lance.

As the skin of the relay is floated off, being neatly removed, and the beam is about to start tearing into the next layer, I have a crazy, desperate, idea.

I might not be able to do much right now, but I _can_ form a mental connection. If I can bridge the gap between the relay and Scion, I might be able to initiate the connection between the two. It wouldn't end well for me, no matter which way I slice it, but it might work.

It would be like a piece of cotton candy landing between two water drops and drawing them together, or using a thin piece of speaker wire to guide a lightning bolt. If I tried to hold the position between the two, I wouldn't be crushed, or even smeared, my mind would be dissolved entirely.

My one chance, my _only_ chance for survival is bridging the gap, then following the connection down the rabbit hole to see where it leads.

Fuck.

Here goes nothing.

I reach out to both at the same time, straining my multitasking ability to the max. As a tentative connection forms with Scion, an inescapably stronger one forms with the relay to the Greater Hivemind.

As the first, faintest _prickle_ of a return signal from Scion, I leap in the other direction, throwing my entire sense of self down the line to the Greater Hivemind. I can feel the connection building in strength as contact is initiated.

And then, suddenly, I can feel a response.

It is so strong that it is all I can do to hold onto my sense of self and my sense of purpose. If I fuck this up, there are no second chances.

 **{T͙̪̬̆̕a̴̧̞̳̞̾͗͌y̖̯͑͊̈l̞͔͎̳̮̩͂͐̏̑oͣͬ͊̂̎͛͜҉͏ŗ̨̞͕̹̰̻̻͖͊ ̧̗̤̱̜̖̄Š̋̆ͫ̀͞҉̯͚̫ḛ̴̹̩͔l̳̦͈̻͉̃̎̏f̡̝̞͙͔͚̏ͥ?͈̱̪͇̼̻̯̥̙́}**

I have to respond. I don't think I will survive another query of that strength.

{Enemy approaches. Please preserve {self}}

For an eternal instant, the Greater Hivemind considers my message.

 **{Yͫ̕҉ḛ̵̮̬̲s̲̹̜̫͛.̨̙̭͎͕̦̝̔}**

With that, I feel something wrap around my sense of self. It is like the stories of Gaia herself talking to a mortal, the entire world wrapping protectively around me.

It is. Taking me apart. Piece by piece.

Carefully labeling pieces. Then putting them back together.

No longer strong enough. To respond. I must watch.

Scion {enemy} approaches.

 _Exchange_?

 **{Contempt}**

 _PAIN_


	69. 11-1

11.1

o0O0o0O0o

Kurt was idly twirling a pen in a dizzying array of flourishes as he pondered the spreadsheet in front of him. When the other core Cauldron members had left without a word, he had been mad, true, but could also understand their decision. It was the rational decision after all, since his abilities had become... unreliable as of late.

From a strictly utilitarian perspective, he was a compromised asset. Part of the explanation was what he had told the other core members when they asked him, Hive's interference had finally extended to the point that it became obvious that his powers were not as unaffected by her thinker limiting effects as previously hypothesized.

The true reason his utility to Cauldron had been going down was related, but one he had not deigned to share with the others. He had become obsessed. Numberman had always found refuge in math. Even before he got the power to understand the world through a lens of mathematics. It was the one language that you could not lie or deceive with. Misunderstand or obfuscate, sure, but you could not legitimately state a falsehood with true mathematics at the level that he understood them. Everything and anything could be defined with math to sufficient levels that it displayed the underlying essence of a thing. And his power gave him the understanding to get there. At least, he had previously thought it did.

It all started with a simple error. His mind went back to when he noticed the problem. It was a receipt that had proved to be his undoing. A regular takeout receipt from some mom and pop diner that he had grabbed lunch from. As was his habit, he ran the numbers through his head as he walked away from the counter after picking up his food. Expected total value of sale, $13.47, easy. He checked the receipt. Yup, as expected; $13.42. He was almost at the door when his brain caught up with the incongruity. Those were… not the same number. He looked down at his receipt again. His power was telling him that it was correct, at $13.47, but his eyes were telling him that is was wrong, at $13.42.

That was… unsettling. His power had never been wrong like that to his knowledge. He double checked the prices on the menu. Yes, everything checked out, the total was correct. He had not been short changed or rung up wrong at the register. It all came to $13.47. Something was nagging at him though. Instead of reaching for the intuitive answer to the question, he did the math manually, one step at a time, in his head. Adding the price of the burger and fries, plus the drink and dessert he had decided on, then adding tax to the total. $13.42. He looked down at his receipt. It stared back up at him, the correct value of $13.42 on there plain as day, except this time, his power agreed with what his eyes were seeing.

His power was _lying to him about what the numbers actually were_ and then pretending it had been right all along when he double checked the answers. Since when did his power cook the books? How many errors had already passed him by because his power said they were correct without double checking them? This would not stand.

He decided to investigate the diner to see where his power had gone wrong. It took him almost three days, even using all the resources of Cauldron to find the answer. When he calculated the derived price manually with the knowledge that one of the owner's cousins was in the Birdcage and was helping him out subtly through the internet, the price came out correct, but if, as a hypothetical, he did the same calculation, but omitted Hive's potential interference from the equation, he got the answer that his power originally provided.

Of course now that he knew where his power had been going wrong, that specific issue no longer cropped up, as though his power learned from it's mistake. And so, Kurt was set on a quest of improving his power. He could not settle for numbers that were correct _most of the time_. It was a personal affront to him. So here he was more than a month later, sitting in an abandoned Cauldron base on Earth Bet, staring at a spreadsheet. He was learning as much as he could about how to do the math properly, manually, without his power, so he could correct where it was going wrong, and make the numbers godsdamned correct.

It was in this state that Legend found him.

"Kurt? I'm surprised that anyone is still here. When the others abandoned the place, pretty much everyone else left."

Kurt looked up from his computer, pen coming to a stop in his hand. He gave a deflated sounding chuckle. "Hah. Yeah, ever since my utility to the core of Cauldron went down, the other members stopped asking my advice. Bit of a wake up call to be honest. I'm at a bit of a loose end."

Legend frowned as he gave him a penetrating look. "I see."

The silence between them stretched.

After a brief mental debate, Legend addressed him. "Tell you what Kurt, I'm officially drafting you. It's time we started cleaning up some of Cauldron's messes. Your abilities are a good match for organizing things, so I'm putting you in charge. I'll get a list of priorities to you later today."

Kurt's head was slightly spinning. "Wha? Cleaning up Cauldron's messes? I know that we've done some unsavory things, but they are important to the eventual defeat of Scion. I thought you were on board?"

Numberman was surprised at the slightly out of place vicious grin that marked Legend's normally jovial face. "I'm afraid you're a bit late to the party on that front, Kurt. Hive killed Scion yesterday. Totally lobotomized him, and dumped a supervirus on the remains that will sterilize the entire planet over the course of the next month. It hasn't made the news yet, since he moved around so often, but people will probably notice some time this week."

Normally Kurt was pretty unflappable, but for once he was feeling pretty flapped. "Ah."

Legend's grin was toned down from malicious to merely sadistic as he clapped him on the shoulder. "I'm sure you'll do a great job, Kurt. I'm counting on you. Oh, and I'll sic Hive on you if you don't. There is that."

Kurt looked into Legends eyes, looking to see if he was serious. To his consternation, Legend was deadly serious.

With a sigh, he turned back to his computer. Legend wouldn't have come to the base if he wasn't looking to start clearing up Cauldron's messes in earnest. He had better get started.

o0O0o

Alexandria was at the head of the small conference room, with Eidolon, Doctor Mother, and Contessa sitting in surprisingly comfortable office chairs around the table.

"I think we're ready. The base is now finished, Doormaker and Clairvoyant are both in a secure location that we control, and we have as many resources as Contessa could gather before the Path started running into interference.

We still have all the results of the previous experimentation with power vials. My proposal is that we move to a new stage of testing. Our previous efforts were hampered by trying to balance every formula for the absolute lowest chance of rejection or failure. I'm sure I'm not the only one that noticed the fact that while many of our earliest attempts failed, they also produced the strongest results when the did succeed. Moving forward, we should use a larger sample size and try to maximise for the total power of the vials. Any objections?"

She had not really phrased it as a question, despite the words, and Eidolon didn't feel up to arguing with her. Doctor Mother and Contessa were in total agreement with her.

After meeting the eyes of each of the others, Alexandria nodded, and spoke confidently to the air. "Doormaker. Portal to the Garden of Flesh."

Several seconds passed in uncomfortable silence.

"Doormaker. Open a door to the Garden of Flesh." She tried again, albeit with a little bit less confidence this time.

Again, nothing happened. She turned to Contessa and was about to ask for a Path to figuring out what was going wrong when a portal finally opened.

It was with some surprise then, that it was not to the Garden of Flesh, but rather to one of the many former Cauldron bases on an uninhabited world. Legend was sitting in a chair on the other side of the portal. Which shouldn't have been possible, she had ordered his portal making privileges revoked herself.

Legend stood up and walked into the conference room they were using, the portal closing behind him.

He looked with distaste at the notes and papers that they had recreated and were sitting on the table detailing the creation of new vials.

Finally, he spoke. "I see that you all have finally decided to come out from the hole you crawled into. I would ask what you-"

He was interrupted by Alexandria. "What are you doing here, Legend? I thought you got the message that we were breaking off from all _former assets_. How did you wrest control over Doormaker and Clairvoyant?"

Legend sighed and rubbed his forehead with the palm of his hand. "I asked. Nicely."

That seemed to bring her up short.

Legend spoke in the silence. "Look. I'm not here to give you condescending speeches or anything. I just wanted to let you know that your former actions are not acceptable. You are going to be abandoned here as punishment. Don't bother trying to get to another world, we know a lot more about interdimensional travel than you do."

With that said, he looked to the side and spoke in a softer tone of voice. "Door to 137 alpha alpha gamma please."

The others in the room did not understand the coordinate system that Legend had used, but they were less than surprised when a portal immediately popped open beside him and he walked through.

"Wait! You _need us_ for defeating Scion. Are you really going to just allow him to kill everyone? And who is we!" Shouted Alexandria, her calm demeanor cracking and allowing some emotion into her voice.

Legend turned and looked at his former friend sadly.

"Hive killed him more than a week ago. You'll just have to live with the knowledge that your former means were not justified by the end."

Doctor Mother finally spoke. "How was he defeated? Surely something more than just a direct conflict."

He gave her a long look, before the corner of his mouth twitched in what was almost a smile. "That is information that you do not need to know. After all, you are no longer a useful asset."

With that, the portal closed. Alexandria turned to Contessa and asked about a path to opening a portal again, but Eidolon was starting to tune it out. He had a sneaking suspicion that they wouldn't find anything useful on that front. He proved to be correct when Contessa finally spoke.

"I can't find Doormaker or Clairvoyant at all. I can't even tell if they are alive or dead. It reads like the heaviest interference from Hive that I have ever encountered."

Eidolon slowly drifted out the door, then out of the base entirely, ignoring the increasingly heated discussion behind him. So. It had all been for nothing in the end. And now here he was, on a dead end planet with allies more than friends. And still his power waned. The job was done, and he still had nothing to prove himself against. No final confrontation, no epic conclusion, no desperate last stand. Just an empty planet with nothing to do.

It was less than a month later that the first of the new Endbringers showed up on their world.


End file.
